Don't look back, forget yesterday
by totalmillennial
Summary: What if there were actually three Jacobs siblings, Callie and Jude were put into foster care together but their younger sister Charlie was separated, thought to be adopted. This story will follow Charlie as she gets reunited with her siblings and meets the fosters family. Callie and Jude will learn about Charlies childhood in which they thought she had been the lucky one..
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at fanfiction so bear with me, I am also not a very confident writer so fingers crossed this is okay to read. Another point, I am from New Zealand so I might have a few aspects incorrect. Anyway hope you enjoy! Please review and comment. It's quite a long first chapter, setting the scene. **

**Charlie POV**

I awoke to my alarm, it was 4:45 in the morning, A sigh escapes my lips as I turn the alarm off, I breathe through my nose and scrunch up my face a little as the stale smell of the damp room fills my nostrils, the best way to describe the stench would be wet socks that have been lying around for weeks, when I first got to this house I would gag each time I walked into the room but I guess over time it becomes almost familiar. I open my eyes to the cream coloured roof before I slowly sit up and gaze around the room that is currently mine, the room consists of an old bed that has probably been sitting in this room for years, along with the only other item of furniture, an empty bookshelf that has a thick layer of dust resting on the top. I have been sleeping in this room for three months now, I have stopped trying to make a room feel personal as I know it will not be long before I am waking up somewhere else.

Quietly I move from the bed, I have to get up early in this house because Shaun, my current foster father leaves for work at 6:30 and he expects me to have some sort of breakfast and a packed lunch ready for him before he walks out the door. I actually enjoy getting up at this time, it almost feels as though I have the house to myself, apart from the subtle sound of Shaun sleeping from his room at the end of the hallway. I get myself changed, I only have a duffel bag of clothes, so there are not many options to choose from, I put on a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, a black ribbed singlet and then throw my dark grey sweatshirt over the top. I let out another sigh as I get myself prepared to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen, it's not a long walk but I have had to learn every creak or sound the floor makes beneath my feet. Shaun does not like to be woken up before his alarm starts to chime at 5:45, I have learnt this the hard way.

Slowly I make my way into the kitchen and close the hallway door behind me, any way to hide noise the better. Opening the fridge, I grab out some ham, a bag of packaged salad and a half loaf of bread from the pantry, my stomach lets out a loud grumble as I notice 'my' food has still yet to be restocked. It has been eight days since I have last taken a proper bite of food, I have had sneaky bites of food from the fridge but I have to be careful because I know if Shaun caught on he would make me very aware of how I am not entitled to 'his' food. In the past I have tried to remind Shaun to pick up some food but my question is always met with an angry response about how I am an ungrateful nag just like his horrid ex-wife. I should be use to the amount of insults I have had in my thirteen years but each time a different adult sends one my way I get a small stabbing feeling within my body, I have tried to shut it off but sometimes it will come out of nowhere and I don't have time to pre-empt my emotions. Shaun is not too horrible though; I have learnt to keep to myself and not ask him questions, if I obey his rules, he will usually just leave me alone. Eight days is the longest Shaun has gone without feeding me though, sure I have gone longer in other houses but for this home it's the longest, over the past two weeks Shaun has been coming home from work reeking of beer and usually heads straight to his bedroom, he doesn't appear again until the morning. At first, I enjoyed the fact I didn't have him watching me each evening and avoiding having to cook him dinner was nice but as the hunger really started to set in, I began feeling desperate to ask about when he is going to buy some food for me to eat. I will try to ask him before he leaves for work this morning, I am hoping I will catch him in a good mood but since that has only happened once or twice since I have been here I am almost certain that will not be the case and I will be met with a bunch of insults and a door slam.

I look over at the clock on the oven 5:28; "shit" I whisper to myself I have been lost in my own hunger and thoughts resulting in me being behind in the morning routine. I quickly throw all the sandwich ingredients on to the bench and open the cutlery drawer to grab out a knife, I have the knife in my hand and I make my way back to the bench, my hand is shaking as I know I have to speed my way through the rest of the morning before Shaun wakes. I place the knife on the bench to grab some bread, I must not have been paying attention to where the knife was placed as before I know it, I hear the sound of metal falling onto hard wooden floors, my eyes automatically open wide. "Please, please, please don't wake up" I cross my fingers and whisper to myself, but within a few seconds I hear the dreadful sound of Shaun's voice making its way down the hallway…

**Stef POV**

I groan as my 5:30am alarm starts to ring through the room, quickly I place my hand over to the side table to find the button to turn off the alarm, once the beeping has stopped I slowly open my eyes, it has just started to get light so I can just make out my wife sleeping beside me. She must sense that I am watching her because I see a small smile appear on her lips, "Good morning" she says to me. I give her a kiss on the forehead "Good morning my love, I am going to jump in the shower and then start breakfast for the kids" I say as I pull back the duvet, stand up and then make my way into the master bathroom. I cannot help smiling as I look back at my wife resting in bed, how did I get so lucky I think to myself before I jump into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later I have made my way down to the kitchen and I have just poured myself a mug of coffee, I grab out some boxes of cereal, milk and juice for the kids to have for breakfast and then I place myself at the end of the table embracing the quiet before the morning rush begins.

It's not long before I hear the footsteps above my head, the kids must be getting ready for their first day back at school for the year. Seconds later the shower is running, that would be my son Jesus, smart boy he is getting in before his other siblings. Listening up I hear footsteps making their way to the bathroom, very loud angry footsteps, here we go I think to myself; a small smile appears on my lips. "JESUS!" I hear Mariana yell as she is slamming on the bathroom door. In a house of two adults and five teenagers it really pays to set an early alarm if you want to have time to shower in the morning. I look up from my coffee as I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, Lena walks around the corner with a smile on her face "And we are back in action for the school year" she laughs as she makes her way over to the coffee machine. "I heard Mariana from down here, how dare Jesus stop her from looking her best for the start of the year" I say with a smile, Lena smiles back at me "She was not impressed with getting booted down the shower queue that's for sure", "some days I truly feel like we are from an episode of the brady bunch my love" I laugh before I take another sip of my coffee.

Slowly the kids start to make their way down to the kitchen, Jude comes first with a big smile on his face "Good Morning!" he almost yells, he has a spring to his step and I know he is ecstatic to be heading back to school. "Good morning love" I say as he walks over to give Lena and I a hug "Excited to get back to school?", "YES!" he replies, " I cannot wait to see Connor; we are in two of the same classes this semester!" I love to see how happy my youngest is, he has come such a long way from the shy boy we adopted two years ago, "That's great sweets, I will be picking you up from school today as Mama has a meeting, you can tell me all about how your first day back goes". "Sounds good Mom" Jude says as he pours himself a bowl of cornflakes. A smile instantly appears on my face as I look over at Lena who is also smiling, I do not know if this giddy feeling I get when he calls me Mom will ever stop.

My eyes shoot over to Jesus and Brandon making their way into the kitchen "Morning Moms" they say at the same time, "Morning loves" I smile over to them. Brandon sits down to dish up some breakfast and Jesus heads over to the shelf in the corner of the kitchen to grab his medicine out of the basket "Looking forward to the first day back?" I ask, directing the question at both of my sons. I receive a shrug from Jesus who has just popped his tablet into his mouth and is currently gulping down a glass of juice Lena had just handed him. Brandon seems a little bit more enthused but all I receive is a "Yeah", I smirk Brandon has never been much of a morning person so I know not to take offence from his lack of communication. "Are the girls on their way down yet?" not directing my question at anyone in particular, Jesus replies with a snicker "Mariana is probably still being grumpy over not beating me to the shower and Callie was still in bed last I saw". Sighing I stand up and make my way to the bottom of the stairs "CALLIE! MARIANA!, you are going to be late for the first day", "Coming Mom" Mariana yells down as she quickly makes her way down the stairs, I noticed the wet hair and a look of frustration is clear on her face. "Jesus stole the first shower and took way longer then he needed too, he did that on purpose, I am so not happy Mom, he is such an ass" she states as she struts past me, "Language my love and good morning to you too" I yell behind her, oh the joys of having teenage girls, I shake my head with a small smirk on my face. Callie makes her way down after I yell up to her a few more times, she looks like she has literally just rolled out of bed "Morning Slug-a-Bug, you running on holiday time this morning?", Callie gives me a smile "Morning" I sneak in a kiss to her forehead as she slumps her way past me and heads towards the kitchen with the rest of the family.

I head back into the kitchen behind Callie, sitting between Lena and Jesus, grabbing myself a bowl I pour myself some muesli and milk. There's not a lot of chatter going around the table this morning, I notice Mariana occasionally giving Jesus a glare with which she receives a laugh or poke of the tongue. I smile to myself as I watch my wonderful family together, I appreciate every moment we share, even simple moments like this where we are just doing everyday life, I am so lucky to share my love with these seven amazing humans.

**Let me know if you would be interested in me continuing this story, In future chapters I will do deeper into Charlie's life, past and present. I will also have Charlie meeting the fosters, I haven't quite figured out how that meeting is going to happen just yet but any opinions are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Glad I have had some response already, here's some answers to questions you have been asking mostly about what happened previously for Jude and Callie to get them where they are. **

**In this story Callie is seventeen, Jude is fourteen and Charlie has just turned thirteen, there is a year and a half gap between Jude and Charlie. Callie and Jude were adopted two years ago, although the ages are a little different it is the same storyline as the show. Callie still went to Juvie before she arrived at the fosters.**

**Callie and Jude were nine and six when they first entered the system, Charlie was four almost five when she was 'adopted'. **

**Anyway here is chapter two, I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think and feel free to share your ideas on where you would like this story to go.**

**Charlie POV**

How could I have been so stupid, I am usually so careful but I let my emotions get the better of me, making me rush and not think about what I was doing, I shake my head slightly. I guess it could have been worse, much worse; I haven't looked at my face yet but I know he would have left a mark. I touch my cheek and flinch slightly at my own touch, I will have to look at my face soon but for now I need to clean up this kitchen. Shaun had left almost as soon as he was done yelling at me, I had tried to stay calm and not respond to his anger but my stomach had other plans and I blurted out my need for food. I guess I should have expected the backhand across the face as I had just woken the man from his precious sleep, I roll my eyes and start to put all the food back. Shaun had not eaten breakfast or taken lunch today, which I know is going to affect his mood for the rest of the day. If I make sure all my chores are done to perfection than maybe it will help to simmer down a bit of the rage that will be coming my way this afternoon. Finishing up the kitchen I then give the lounge a clean, picking up empty beer cans and empty packets of potato chips that litter the small living area.

Finally, the cleaning is done, I peek at the clock on the oven again it's now eight, I have approximately eleven hours until Shaun will be home, eleven if he has beers after work again, nine if he comes back straight after work. I will have dinner ready for nine hours, I am not going to give him any more opportunities to use me as a punching bag, I give a scoff, who am I kidding they always find an excuse and Shaun isn't any different from the others. I make my way to the bathroom, looking in the mirror I can see a red mark stretched across my right cheek bone, there is already a glimmer of purple starting to show. I turn on the cold tap and place the corner of a towel under the cool water, squeezing out some of the water I then move the towel up to my cheek I flinch at how tender it is but after a few seconds the coolness of the water starts to ease the throbbing pain radiating from my bruised face. My eyes gaze at my face in the mirror, I am so pale, my brown eyes look black and there is the subtle tinge of yellow around my right eye socket from the last time I made Shaun angry, my caramel brown hair looks so unkempt I could almost laugh, this is me, this will always be me. I brush my fingers through my hair, I left my old brush at my last foster home so this is all I have to work with now, I get caught in a few knots but surprisingly it is not too hard to make my hair look semi presentable. I sigh as I look at my reflection, I wonder if I look anything like my sister Callie, I wonder if I would even recognise her anymore as I have not seen her in so long or my brother Jude I wonder what he looks like now, I don't have any photos anymore so all I have is my memory and sometimes the images in my mind change meaning I don't know what image is right and what is wrong. I wonder if they would recognise me if they found me, I look at myself once more and scoff again, probably not, I turn off the light and walk out the door.

Shaun has made it clear that as soon as my chores are done, he wants me out of the house, he does not trust me being left at home all day. At first I tried to argue that maybe he should enrol me in school so I would have something to do during the day, over the first few weeks he would wave his hand behind his head and tell me he would do it when he has time but after three months I don't think he has any plans on finding me a school. Usually I take myself to one of the local parks and sleep under the trees, people often look at me with pity or sometimes disgust, they must think I am a homeless child, sometimes I wonder if it would be better to be homeless rather then moving from one horrible foster home to another. I have thought about running away a few times but I still have this silly glimmer of hope that one day I might find my forever family. I scoff, maybe it's time to lose my last bit of hope, I mean I am thirteen now, no one wants to adopt a teenager, especially a broken one. I pick up my duffel bag and head out the door, as it closes behind me I look over my shoulder to see the neighbour, Laurel I think her name is, she is always sitting on a deck chair when I leave in the morning, I am almost certain that Shaun has asked her to keep an eye on me after he leaves for work, to make sure I actually leave for the day. She is an older woman, she has smoky grey hair, it's thinning in many places. She is so skinny that it looks like she might break just from walking, I wouldn't be surprised if she has been living off drugs, cigarettes and alcohol for the past fifty years. She makes me feel so uncomfortable as I have to walk past her to get down the outdoor stairs. Shauns home is in a motel block, he is the end apartment on the second floor, the motel is filled with drunks and losers but at least most of them keep to themselves, the cops have only been around a handful of times since I have lived here and that is mostly for the couple underneath Shauns apartment who always seem to be arguing. How is this even considered a safe place for a foster child I will never understand, the system is so corrupt that nothing surprises me anymore, I throw my bag over my shoulder as I walk out of the motel carpark and make my way down the street. Today is going to be a different day, I have decided to take a little bit of control in my life, If Shaun is not going to do it then I will do it myself, I am going to enrol myself in school.

**Callie POV**

I step out of the car and look at the building in front of me, Anchor Beach Charter School, I give a sigh I am not too thrilled to be back here, Lena has already been asking me what I am going to do for my senior project but I don't even know where to start. Brandon said he already has a big extravagant plan, of course he does, he is always one step ahead of everyone else. I cannot even think about my senior project my head has been somewhere else for the past two weeks, ever since I saw that girl, that girl who looked so similar to me, looked so similar to Mom, my birth Mom. I wonder if it could have been Charlie, I know the last time I saw her she was only small but it could have been, was it? I wish I had followed her and found out. I shake my head, it cannot have been Charlie, she was adopted almost instantly after Mom died, a family had wanted a little girl and apparently she was exactly what they were looking for. I didn't want her to be taken away from us but Bill said she was going to a loving family, a family that would take good care of her, I knew I could not take care of her and Jude so I let her go. That girl I saw she didn't look like she was from a loving home, she looked scruffy and lonely, she looked like I how use to feel, disposable. That girl could not have been Charlie because she was adopted, she had a family. I wish I knew where she was now, I was I knew she was safe and happy but I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach and I have learnt not to ignore that feeling. I can hear Lena talking but I didn't realise she is aiming her question at me, I look over at Lena "You okay Cal?, you were off in a daze" she asks, "Yeah sorry, I'm just tired" Lena pulls me into a side hug, I look around and see the others have already started to walk themselves into the school so I begin to follow, "Remember Mom is picking you up today, I won't be home until dinner time. If you need me I will be in the office" Lena yells out to me as she grabs the rest of her belongings out of the car, I turn around, give her a small smile along with a wave as I continue into the school grounds.


	3. Chapter 3

**It is the weekend so I am on a roll, my uploads will slow down a bit during the weekdays as I will be working, I will try to upload a chapter every couple of days but I will see how I go. **

**Answering a few more questions, Callie and Jude came to be at the fosters the same as the show, Callie picked up from Juvie and Jude saved from Jim Pearson. Not a Braille story, it will be focusing on reuniting Charlie with her siblings, Charlies past and her relationships with the rest of the Adams Foster family. **

**Reminder: I am from New Zealand and know nothing about San Diego, hence the made up schools and geography of the area. Sorry if there are any mistakes that bother you. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy remember to review and send through any ideas you have for the story. I ****apologise for the slow start but I am trying to build up Charlies character. **

**Charlie POV**

My first stop of the day is the library, walking into the local library I find a computer in the corner and sit myself down, I start the search engine and look for schools near me. The results show four schools that are in walking distance, I read through the four schools _Albany High School, Middleton High School, Bridgeport High School _and the last result is a school called _Anchor Beach Charter School_, I open the link to look at the photos. My eyes open a little bit wider than they were before "Wow" I whisper to myself. What a beautiful school and right by the beach, it's a bit further than the other schools, about a thirty-minute walk but it looks amazing, too bad it is a charter school, they probably wouldn't take someone like me, sighing I close the tab. I write down the addresses to the other three schools, put my pen and paper in my pocket, grab my bag and leave the library. First stop _Albany High School_.

**Callie POV**  
I look at the clock 10:00am, urgh this day is going so slow, I look up at Timothy his lips are moving but I haven't paid any attention to what he has been saying all lesson. I usually enjoy Timothy's lessons but today my mind is far away, that girl, I need to know who she is, even though I am sure she could not have been Charlie I still feel the need to help her somehow. I think back to last week, after I had seen the girl walking past my work, I tried to call Bill to ask him about Charlie but Bill refused to give me any answers, he said that Charlie got referred to another social worker the day she got sent to her _forever_ family and he cannot reveal any details of her living arrangements. I couldn't lose the weird filling in the pit of my stomach "Can you at least tell me that she is happy and safe?" I asked Bill, after a pause Bill took a breath "I am sorry Callie, I don't have the information you are after and it is illegal for me to find out. Charlie had a closed adoption, meaning her parents did not want any contact from her previous family. She is not back in _our_ system which is something to be positive about right?", I roll my eyes; after a short burst of silence I hear Bill talk again "I have to go Callie, once again I'm sorry I could not give you any more information". I felt like throwing the phone at that minute, how is it illegal to find someone's blood relative, she is my sister and I just wanted to know if she is okay. I thought about mentioning the girl I saw to Moms, Jude and I have told them about Charlie and I previously asked about finding her a year or so ago, Stef looked into it but she said she couldn't find any mention of her in the police system. She said that she is sure she is okay with her family, reminding Jude and I that she never really entered the foster system because of her early adoption. Coming back to the present I watch the clock again, watching as the seconds hand slowly moves its way around the clock, I let out a quiet sigh, this is going to be a long day

**Charlie POV**

It has been three hours since I had left the library, I have visited the three schools on my list, the only school that said they would take me was _Middleton High School_, they said I would need to have a few forms signed by Shaun and once that is done I am free to start. I would have thought I would be excited to find a school that would take me but I didn't feel any excitement or joy about _Middleton High School_, it was a small school with wire all around the boundary. The principal was a short stout man with a big grey moustache, when I entered his office it smelt musty and damp, like he had not opened his windows in years. He only asked me two questions the first being "Are you going to cause trouble here?", "No, no definitely not. I just want to have the opportunity to.." I could not even finish my sentence before he asked me his next question "Do you smoke, drink or do drugs?", I was shocked by the forward question but I still answered "No, never". He let out a grunt, almost like he did not believe me at all, pulling out some forms from his desk drawer he had handed them to me, "Great, now Clary get these signed and then you can start", "It's Charlie and thank you", I stood up and made my way to the door. Coming back to the present, I am sitting on a park bench looking down at the enrolment forms for _Middleton High School_, is this want I really want, to go to a school where the teachers cannot even remember my name, where I truly am a nobody, I would like to think I am worth more than that but sometimes that is hard to believe. I take my sweatshirt off and tie it around my waist, the sun is out now. As I stand up I think back to that fourth school, should I just try there, they might have a spot for me, unlikely but they might, I try to remember the address of the school but I can't quite remember. I know it was next to the beach, maybe if I make my way down there and walk along the beach I will stumble across it. I know this is a long shot but I'm ready to take any chance I can to not have to attend _Middleton High School_, I scrunch up the enrolment forms and shove them into my duffel bag as I start heading towards the beach.

Twenty-five minutes later I am standing outside of _Anchor Beach Charter School_, It is just as amazing in person as it was in the pictures, I can't help but picture myself walking into these school grounds each morning but I push the image down almost as soon as it appears. I really can't get my hopes up for this school, the likelihood of me coming here is slim to none. I notice the sign that has a big arrow pointing to the right of the school reading _office_, throwing my bag over my shoulder I make my way into the school grounds and follow the sign. I am never someone to make a wish but at this moment I cross my fingers and allow myself to wish that this might just work out for me for once.

**Lena POV**

I always forget how much there is to do at the start of the school year, although we have been closed for two months there still seems to be days upon days of paperwork that needs to be done. I have managed to get through two piles so far, I have just come back from lunch when my phone beeps from my handbag, message from Stef _'How is your day going love? Are the kids all okay? Callie seemed a little off this morning? x'_, I quickly send back a reply _'I noticed that too, I saw her with Mariana at lunchtime and she seemed okay, it's probably just first day blues. All the other kids seem to be having a good day. See you when I get home, Love you x'_. I stash my phone back into my bag and head back to my desk, I gaze at the four other piles of paperwork waiting for me to sort through and sigh as I take a seat to get started.

It has been ten minutes when I hear a knock on the door "Come in", the door opens ajar and Shelley our enrolment supervisor pops her head around the corner "There is a young lady here enquiring about an enrolment, it is a unique case so I thought it would be best if she comes to see you", I look at the pile of paperwork and push it to the side it can wait, I look up to Shelley "Send her in".


	4. Chapter 4

**So here is the next chapter, I apologise in advance if I have gotten any of the schooling details wrong. Once again I'm not familiar with the school system in America so there could be incorrect details. Anyway hope you enjoy. **

**Lena POV**  
I look up at Shelley "Send her in", a few seconds later I see the door open wider and a young girl walks into my office, I stand up to welcome her. I double take as I think my daughter Callie is walking through the door, but this girl is not Callie, she looks slightly unkempt, her face looks pale and jaunt almost like she has not had a meal in weeks, I look at her face again and that's when I notice the bruising around her eye and cheek. My thoughts instantly go back to the day I met Callie outside of the juvenile detention centre, beaten and bruised, this feels like Deja-vu. It takes me a while before I realise my mouth is slightly ajar and I have been staring at this young girl without having said a word to her, "S-Sorry" I stutter out, "My name is Mrs Adams-Foster but feel free to call me Lena" the girls smiles in my direction, "Come in, take a seat" I gesture my hand towards the chair opposite mine, she slowly walks in and takes a seat, placing her bag on the floor next to her. I sit back down at my desk "I hear you want to enquire about an enrolment here", "Yes, sorry if this is a bad time but I was in the area and your school is so beautiful I wanted to try my luck in seeing if I could get in?" the girl replies her wording sounding more like a question than a statement. I can't help staring into this girls' eyes, she is smiling but all I see is sadness, having studied child psychology I have a great talent in reading how children are feeling just from looking at them.

I realise I'm doing the staring thing again; I just cannot get over the familiarities between this girl and my Callie, I sense she is getting uncomfortable as I have not answered her question, "Sorry, Sorry" I say again taking me eyes away from this girl to pull out our enrolment pack. Placing the enrolment pack on the desk I open up my laptop to view the school roll, I already know that we do not have much space in the school, our waiting list proves that but I just feel the need to not crush this girls hopes right at this second, "Okay, how old are you?", "Just turned thirteen" she replies with a small smile. So she would be in 8th grade, I give her a smile as I search our 8th grade roll, I can sense her anxiously watching me. I search the school system and surprisingly we have had a few families move over the summer meaning there are only a few children on the 8th grade waiting list, maybe I will be able to help this young girl sitting in front of me.

When I look up into the girls eyes she is intently staring into mine, she's waiting for an answer, "What school are you attending at the moment?" I ask, we are going to need to email her previous school to receive her records, this is part of the enrolment requirements, even to get onto the waiting list. I notice she looks down at this moment and starts to fumble with her fingers "I..I don't go to school right now.. I.. I.. My family just moved into the area, we have been traveling along the east coast and have only just gotten home this week" she stumbles through her sentence "Where are your parents now?" I ask, "They..They had to get straight back into work, my mum travels a lot for work so she is currently in Seattle and my Dad, well he.. he works really long hours, so I thought I would save them the trouble and enrol myself into school" the girl says. I can sense that something is not right with this story, I knew from the moment she walked through the door that something is not going well in this girl's life but I'm not in a place to push the truth out on her. I pick up the enrolment pack and pass it over to the girl "Unfortunately we do still have a small waiting list for our 8th grade classrooms but if you would like to fill in these forms and send them back to us we can then start the process of getting you onto that list, there are details that your parents will need to fill out and sign", I notice her slightly scrunch up her noise "Okay" she says, "We will also need you to do an entry exam to see where you are at, If you receive a spot this will give us all the information we need to place you in the right classes for your level, this will be organised once we receive your enrolment pack, which I forgot to add can be mailed or handed directly to the office whichever is easier for you". The girl holds the enrolment pack to her chest and stands up "Thank you so much Lena", I give her a smile and stand up to get ready to walk her out the door. The girl is almost out of my office when I realise I do not even know her name, "Sorry, I forgot to ask you what your name is?", "Charlie... Charlotte Jacobs", my eyes widen and I feel my jaw go slightly ajar yet again, did I hear her correctly, It can't be, is this girl Jude and Callies sister, It makes sense, she is almost a spitting image on Callie, I thought she was Callie when I first laid eyes on her. I get lost in my own thoughts and before I have time to ask again she has walked herself out of the building.

**Charlie POV**  
That went better than I thought, Mrs Adams-Foster, Lena, she seemed nice, a little strange at times but I felt safe being in the room with her, the safest I have felt in a long time. She did keep looking at me, almost like she was looking at a ghost but I guess she could have been looking at the bruises on my face, I was surprised when she didn't ask me about them, I'm glad she didn't. I already lied too much to Lena, so i'm glad I avoided having to talk about what happened to me, I didn't expect myself to lie but I thought she wouldn't continue talking to me if I told her the truth, I give out a sigh, I will never get in once she learns the truth; why do I always stuff up. I put the enrolment pack into my duffel bag alongside the one for _Middleton High School_, after this morning I highly doubt Shaun is going to sign any forms for me anyway. I throw my bag over my shoulder and start the walk back to the motel, it's now 2:30 in the afternoon so I have plenty of time to get home and get dinner ready before Shaun arrives home. I walk past the Ocean Beach art museum, I have wanted to visit this place for a while, I turn myself around and walk back towards the entry, I have always loved art but I never seem to have the opportunity to go to an art museum, after a small amount of deliberation I decide to go inside. In my head I plan over my afternoon, making sure I have enough time to get back to the motel. I give myself an hour to look around the museum and thirty minutes to walk home, this will mean I will be home by 4:00pm. This should still give me enough time to prepare dinner and hopefully Shaun will be in a good enough mood to sign the enrolment forms currently resting in my duffel bag.

An hour or so later I am walking down the main street of town, I smile to myself I actually enjoyed today, the art museum was exquisite and I can't get my mind away from _Anchor Beach Charter School_. I decided I am going to try my luck at getting on that waiting list, I mean what have I got to lose, all they will say is I didn't get in right? being told that I am not good enough is what I am use to, sure it might hurt at first but I know I will get over it. I am almost back at the motel now, I took a bit longer than expected at the art museum as I got lost in my own thoughts and time got away from me but I'm not worried I mean it is only 4:15pm and Shaun has not been home before 6pm over the past two weeks, what are the chances that today will be the day he decides to come home earlier. I walk around the corner and my stomach drops as I see the familiar blue pick-up truck in the motel carpark, Shauns truck, shit why did I go to that museum. Fear seeps into my body as I know how angry Shaun is going to be, he was already fuming this morning so I can only imagine what he is feeling right at this moment. I want to turn around and walk in the other direction but I don't know where I would go, I have nowhere else to go. I take a deep breath and brace myself as I slowly start the walk towards the stairs that will take me up to the apartment, I am strong, I can do this, I tell myself as I get closer to the door.

I get to the door where I notice it is slightly ajar, I can hear the television is playing through the door, taking another deep breath I push it open and walk into Shauns small apartment. A smell instantly fills my nostrils, the smell of sweat and hard liquor, I am use to the smell of beer in this house but this is unusual. I walk in and notice that Shaun is not in the living area, gazing around the room I see a bottle of whisky sitting on the bench, next to the bottle is a letter, curious I walk over to the bench, the letter is open wide and I read the first line _'Dear Mr Shaun Gibson, we regret to inform you that you have been dismissed from Hammerhead Construction Ltd. Effective immediately'_, "Shit" I whisper to myself, I do not have to read any more, this is bad, this is really bad. It is in that moment that I notice there are two glasses on the bench, next to the glasses there is a small bag with a white substance inside, I have seen that substance in past foster homes so I instantly know that it is cocaine, there are also traces of the drug along the bench. My stomach drops even more when I walk around the kitchen island and notice a pair of red stiletto heels thrown across the kitchen floor, I guess I was in my own mind so I only just acknowledge the noises that are coming from the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Horrible noises, grunts and moans, being in foster care has made me mature fast so I know exactly what is happening in that room. I gag, the sounds make me want to vomit, I need to get out of this place right now. I do not care if I have nowhere to go, I cannot be here. I briskly start to walk towards the door when a gust of wind slams it closed, my eyes widen and a few seconds later I hear his voice yelling from the bedroom "You finally decided to make your way home!" I hear a female's voice quietly mumbling in the room "Don't worry princess, I will be right back for you, I just have something I gotta take care of first", my stomach drops as I hear the floor creak and Shauns footsteps making their way towards the kitchen. It only takes a few seconds before Shaun is standing directly in front of me, he bends down so his face is eye to eye with mine, "you think you are so special, you think you deserve better than this, then this home I have given you out of the kindness of my heart", he lifts up his finger on his left hand and places it in the middle of my forehead "you need to get a reality check sweetheart" he pushes my head backward with his finger "you are worthless, you are scum, you have ruined my life". Shauns words are ringing in my brain, I don't even have time to understand what is happening before I am pushed back into the corner of the kitchen island, I gasp as pain instantly radiates up my side. I am holding myself up using the bench but within a second I feel another blow to my already bruised cheek, I fall to the ground and try to protect myself by curling into a ball, it doesn't do much as I feel a blow on my back, another on my side, he must be kicking me now. I have my eyes scrunched up tight, I don't want to see him, I want to try to ignore what is happening to me, why does this always happen to me. Kick after kick, he is still going, I let out a whimper that I was trying to hold in, the pain is unbearable now, I hear Shaun snicker and then he gives me one more blow this one is directly to my stomach, I must have subconsciously moved my hands up to my head leaving my stomach unprotected, the blow leaves me gasping for air. I hear the voice of the female again "Come back to bed baby", I almost forgot someone else was in the apartment, surely she would have heard what Shaun was doing to me, I guess she doesn't care she is only here for her pay slip. Shaun must be done with me because I hear him moving away, I slightly open my eyes, everything is blurry but I can just distinct Shauns legs as they move towards his bedroom. A few minutes later the horrible noises begin again, I want to stand up, I want to move, I want to get away from this place, from Shaun but my body is resisting. I try to lift my head off from the kitchen floor but I can only move it an inch, the room starts to spin and my head feels fuzzy, I try to keep my head up but I don't seem to have the strength, suddenly I feel my head drop to the floor and then everything goes black.

**Hope you enjoyed Charlies first interaction with a member from the fosters family, I don't know why I decided on Lena, I guess I wanted it to relate to Callies first meeting of the fosters too. I have an idea of where I want to have this story go but nothing is set in stone. If you have any ideas feel free to share. **

**P.S: I really struggled writing this chapter, I just couldn't seem to get it where I wanted it to be. Let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stef POV**

I open up the fridge to see what food I have to work with, I am on dinner duty tonight which is not a regular occurrence, I would hate to admit it but I'm definitely not the chef in the family. I only cook once in a blue moon usually when Lena has to work late, most of the time I will end up ordering take out but the kids should have a proper meal after their first day back to school. They all looked exhausted when they jumped in the car at the end of the school day, I thought Callie was going to fall asleep at one point, she definitely hasn't been herself the past two weeks. I find a container of mince, Lena must have pulled this out of the freezer this morning, I grab it out and place it on the table. I move to the pantry to see if there is any inspiration for tonight's meal, pasta, rice, potatoes and bread rolls, I grab out the bread rolls, "Burgers it is" I say to myself. Going back to the fridge I grab out all the other ingredients to go into tonight's dinner. As I prepare dinner, I look out of the kitchen window, a smile appears on my face as I watch Jesus and Jude kicking a ball to each other. It has been a very quiet afternoon, much like the morning, the girls went straight upstairs when we arrived home and Brandon said he was going to practice for his upcoming recital in the garage. I asked the kids if they had homework to do but they all replied with a no, whether that is the truth or not I can't be sure but because it is the first day back I'm willing to let it slide. Jesus and Jude walk inside as I am mixing the burger ingredients in a bowl, Jude is in hysterics and Jesus is covered in mud, "You okay sweets?" I ask Jesus with a smirk, he gives me a glare "Yeah. I fell in the mud, I'm going to go have shower" he storms off up the stairs, once he has left the room I look to Jude and we both let out a burst of laughter. Jude places his soccer ball next to the back door and walks over to the kitchen bench "do you want any help with dinner Mom?", "That would be great sweets, do you want to start cutting up the salad?" "Sure" Jude replies with a smile, he is always the one to help with dinner, he likes to be close to Mama or I when we are in the house.

Jude and I have been busy in the kitchen, dinner is almost ready and Jude is just placing the plates around the table. Lena should be home any minute she messaged me about fifteen minutes ago to let me know her meeting had just finished; she was going to pack up and head straight home. Lena sent me a message earlier in the day mentioning that something interesting had happened at school today, she said not to worry but she will talk to me when she gets home. The oven chimes signalling the burger buns are warmed and dinner is ready to be served, I head over to the bottom of the stairs "Dinner is ready!" I hear footsteps instantly making their way out of the bedrooms. The door opens just as I turn around to make my way back to the kitchen, Lena walks in with a pile of paperwork, her laptop bag and her handbag hanging off her shoulder. I rush over to help her get through the door "Hi love, here hand me that so you don't drop anything" I grab the pile paperwork and give Lena a kiss before I take the pile through to the living area and place it on the coffee table. The kids are all bounding down the stairs at this point each welcoming Lena home in their own way. Once the kids are out of the entryway I turn back to Lena "So what happened today? I know you said not to worry but I can't help it", Lena looks at me and I can see a mixture of emotions show on her face "No need to worry but we do need to have a chat, let's go have some dinner first the kids are waiting but I promise I will fill you in later" Lena gives me kiss and holds my hand, pulling me behind her into the kitchen where I can hear the family busy talking amongst themselves.

**Charlie POV**

I feel myself starting to come back to consciousness, I can instantly feel pain across my entire body, I let out a groan as I pull my arm up and place it on my forehead, my head is throbbing. I start to remember the events that led up to this moment, nausea hits me as I remember, the smell of the apartment, the noises I heard coming from the bedroom and the beating I took as Shaun used me as his personal punching bag. I open my eyes slowly and try to push myself up to a sitting position, a wave of dizziness hits me so I have to pause half way up. How long have I been out? where is Shaun? I push myself up that little bit further until I am seated, resting my back against the kitchen island. Looking around the room I can see that it is now dark outside meaning it has to be at least 8 o'clock, I continue my gaze across the room and notice that the red shoes are gone from the kitchen floor. Suddenly a loud grunt comes from Shauns bedroom, I can't help but jump at the sudden noise, I have to place a hand on my ribs as they protest against my sudden movement. A serious of snores come after the grunt, at least I don't have to worry about Shaun at this moment, I feel a little bit of relief at this thought. I rest my head back against the island, my thoughts are racing, I need to come up with a plan, I can't stay here anymore, not with Shaun on drugs, things could get even worse than what happened tonight. I brace myself for the pain I know I'm going to feel and I begin to push my body up to a standing position, I use the kitchen island to steady myself before I quietly grab my duffel bag, everything I need to survive is in this bag. My ribs are burning but nothing is going to stop me now, I have made my decision, I am leaving. Slowly I make my way to the front door, I'm more careful than I have ever been before, Shaun is not going to hear me this time. I am halfway across the room when I notice Shauns wallet resting on the coffee table, I am not one to steal but I need some money to get me back on my feet and at the moment I only have about twelve dollars resting in the front pocket of my bag. I make my way to the coffee table and open the wallet, inside I find two twenty doll bills and a bunch of ones, I grab them all and stuff the money into my jean pockets. Placing the wallet back on the table I then make my way to the door and off I go, out into the night, without a destination, without a plan, it's just me now.

**Stef POV**

I have just finished doing the rounds and the kids are all asleep, they crashed out not long after dinner, they must have been exhausted. I make my way to the master bedroom, Lena is already in bed, I roll back the covers and jump in next to her "So now that the kids are asleep, what happened today love?" Lena sits up a little, she then turns her body towards me, I feel this is going to be a serious conversation. Lena lets out a sign before she begins talking "So I met someone today, someone I never thought I would meet", Lena falls silent for a minute and looks down at her hands, she looks as if she is contemplating how to word her next sentence. After a period of silence, I ask "Who was it love?" Lena looks up "I met Charlie, Charlie Jacobs" I feel my jaw drop "H..how did you meet Charlie? Where did you meet Charlie? Was she okay?" I have so many questions I just want to keep asking Lena but I can already tell she is feeling overwhelmed. Lena sighs before she begins telling me about her meeting of Charlie earlier today, by the end of story I am up on my feet pacing the room, I feel Lenas eyes on me as I pace back and forwards "Lena we need to find her! You said yourself she was hurt, she was in trouble!", I feel panic rising in my chest, I don't even know this girl but I feel connected, I feel the need to protect her from whatever bad is happening in her life. Lena sighs again "It's not that simple Stef, I don't have any information on her apart from her name, she could be anywhere, you have already tried to find information on her before but you came up dry how is this time going to be any different?" I stare at Lena, she has unshed tears in her eyes "I don't know Lena, I don't know what we can do but I can't sit here and do nothing when a child is in danger, a child who shares the same DNA as two of our children!" Lena grabs my hand and guides me back to the bed, she then sits in front of me, both my hands in hers, she always has a way to calm me down when I get into a state. After a few deep breaths Lena looks into my eyes "Listen to me love, we cannot be sure that Charlie is even in any danger" I try to interrupt but Lena stops me "We also need to take into account that we have five of our own children, what if Charlie does need help.. are we in a place where we can bring her into our home, we already struggle some weeks as it is" I open my mouth again but Lena is quick to start talking "If Charlie needs help then we will try everything, _everything_ we can to help her but there are no guarantees that we will actually find her, I will call Bill first thing tomorrow morning to see if there is _any_ information into where Charlie is now and the details about her adoption but for now, for tonight, there is nothing we can do" I think about what Lena has said and I know it's the truth, there is nothing we can do in this very moment but how am I supposed to sleep when this bombshell has just been placed into my life, I am worried, I am confused, there are so many thoughts running through my mind right now. Lena can tell that I am lost in my emotions and thoughts, she pulls me into an embrace "We will figure this out love, I'm confused too but tonight we need to sleep, tomorrow we will come up with a plan but I don't think we should tell Callie or Jude just yet" I nod my head in agreement as I adjust the blanket and slide under the covers. Lena kisses me goodnight before she turns the light off, I am lying on my back staring at the roof, wherever you are Charlie I hope you are okay, I hope you are safe, if not I am going to find you, I promise I am going to find you.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please keep reviewing. Let me know what you think, is there anything you want me to try incorporate in future chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stef POV**

I let out a yawn as I wake up to the sound of my morning alarm, I don't know how much sleep I managed to get last night, I think I finally dozed off at around three thirty. My lack of sleep has resulted in a mild headache but a black coffee should fix me right up. I start to get up when I feel Lena place her hand upon my forearm "Didn't get much sleep too huh?" Lena asks me, I reply with a half-hearted smile "I might have squeezed a few hours in" I stand up, put on my zip up sweater and head towards the door "I will go get the coffee ready and then we can make a plan before the kids wake up for school" Lena gives me a nod, she is already up from bed and beginning to get her clothes ready for the day.

As I make my way towards the stairs, I go past the kids' bedrooms, silence, they are all still fast asleep and probably won't be awake for at least another twenty minutes. I haven't told Lena yet but I have already organised with work to have today off, I need to wrap my head around what Lena told me last night and figure out where to go from here. I get to the kitchen and get started on the coffee, getting out two mugs for Lena and I. As I am waiting for the coffee, I grab my laptop and place it in front of my chair at the kitchen table, I am now more determined than ever to source some information on Charlie. Just as I get my workstation ready Lena walks into the kitchen, she pours the now ready coffee into the two mugs I had placed on the bench and brings them over to where I am sitting. Lena places herself on the stool next to me, we are silent for a few beats, both exhausted and in our own minds. Lena is the one who starts the conversation that we are both clearly avoiding, she is staring into her mug of coffee as she begins to talk "What are we going to do Stef? I just can't get her face out of my mind, the sadness in her eyes.. she looked so defeated; I know.." Lena pauses for a beat "..I know I said that we didn't know for certain that she is in danger but I just have this feeling, I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen or maybe it already has. My heart is telling me we need to find her and bring her back here where she will be safe but my head.." Lena looks up into my eyes "My head is telling me that we just can't have another person in this house, financially and physically we just don't have the space" Lena looks as if she is about to burst into tears. Looking at Lena I know she is still very confused about this whole situation just as I am, I grab Lenas hands as she did with mine last night "Let's find Charlie first, let's figure out what is happening and if she needs help, hell she might not even want help from us but at least we can try" I wipe a stray tear that has just fallen down Lenas cheek "Once we get past this first step we can figure out the rest, okay love?" Lena gives a slight shake of her head "I _know_ you Stef, I know you so well which makes me already know that you are not going to be able to let this girl go, once you meet her, once you look into her brown eyes just as I did" I know Lena is right, the second she told me that she thought Charlie was in an abusive home my heart grew bigger. I already have love for this girl, this girl that I have never met, I want to, no I _need_ to protect her. I shift away from Lena, I know we need to talk more about this but I just can't at this moment, I need to find her before anything serious happens. I grab the home phone "I'm going to go and call Bill" I walk out of the kitchen, I can hear Lena say my name as I'm leaving but I decide to keep going.

The phone rings a few times before Bill picks up "Hello, Bill speaking", "Oh hi Bill, it's Stefanie Foster, Sorry for calling you so early" It's probably a bit too early to call but I am so desperate for answers at this moment that I don't really care "Yes it is rather early, How can I help you?" I can sense a slight tone of annoyance in his voice "I just wanted to know if you have any information about Charlotte Jacobs, Callie and Judes biological sister?" I hear Bill let out another annoyed sigh "Just as I told Callie a few weeks ago, I have no information on Charlie, she is not in our agency anymore and getting any information on Charlie is now illegal for me obtain and to share with you" my eyes are wide, did I hear Bill right "Wait..wait did you say you talked to Callie?", "Yes she was very interested in finding out any information on Charlie but like I said before I am unable to do so" Why did Callie suddenly want to find information on Charlie, after we couldn't find anything the first time she seemed to have come to terms with the fact that Charlie has her own family and her own life. What changed, is this why Callie has been acting off the last few weeks, why didn't she tell Lena or myself. I hear Bill clear his throat through the phone line, thus tearing me from my thoughts "Okay, thanks Bill. Sorry for calling so early, Bye", "Bye Stef" I hang up the phone and continue pondering my thoughts, I need to talk to Callie.

**Callie POV**

I am the last to enter the busy kitchen, "Morning Cal" Stef says, "Morning Mom" I reply. I am not that hungry so I just grab an apple and lean up against the bench, it is only now that a realise that Stef has been following me with her eyes as I made my way across the dining area and she is still staring at me. She looks like she really wants to say something but she is holding back "What's up?" I ask inquisitively, she looks across at Lena before she makes eye contact with me again "Is it okay if I take you to school today love, I'm not working so I thought I'd drop you in a little bit later?" weird, she must want to talk to me about something, Moms always take us individually if they want to talk in private, sometimes it's the only way to have a private chat in a big family like ours. My brothers and sister are chatting amongst themselves so they're not paying attention to my conversation with Stef "umm sure?" I reply with confusion written on my face, she gives me a smile before she takes a bite of her toast, I only noticed now how tired she looks, I then look to Lena who looks equally as tired, what is going on? there is definitely something going on and my guess is i'm going to find out on my ride to school.

Thirty minutes later the front door closes and it is now only Stef and myself in the house, I am starting to feel a bit anxious about what Stef wants to talk to me about. Hopefully it isn't bad, I can't think of anything I might have done wrong, Stef didn't look angry when she talked to me this morning, if anything she looked sad. Stef is upstairs getting changed into her clothes for the day, she said she would be down in a sec but I'm getting more stressed by the second, I should have said no to her taking me, maybe if I'm fast I can quickly jump into the car with the others. I look to the door and shake my head, no, I'm sure it's fine, I'm probably worrying about nothing.

Stef is making her way down the stairs now, she is currently throwing her hair up in a ponytail, I watch as she grabs her laptop and makes her way into the living area "Come in here Cal", hesitantly I make my way into the living area where Stef is patting the seat next to her on the couch "Come, sit love". I sit next to her "So.. what's up?" Stef pauses before she looks up at me "I called Bill this morning" my eyes widen and I feel my mouth start to go dry, she called Bill why did she call Bill? I'm adopted, Bill isn't my case worker anymore, unless they are undoing my adoption but why would they do that, I did nothing wrong, this doesn't make sense. I must have entered into a daze because I notice Stef is looking at me with worry written on her face, her mouth is moving but I am not listening "Love.. Cal, are you okay? Earth to Callie?" her voice is slowly starting to match her moving mouth now "yeah sorry" I shake my head "Wh.. Why did you call Bill?", "I wanted to ask him some questions but it turns out someone had already called him recently to ask him" Stef is looking at me, she looks like she wants me to open up about something but I just can't seem to put two and two together. I must look confused as Stef continues "I wanted to ask about Charlie" suddenly I realise what Stef wanted to talk to me about, she knows I asked Bill about her "Why did _you_ want to ask about Charlie" I blurt out, "I wanted to ask you the same thing" Stef replies. I think for a second about what I'm going to say, I decide on the truth, there is no reason for me lie about it "I.. I thought I saw Charlie the other week, the girl she looked like me Mom but she looked horrible, she was so skinny and she looked hurt; she looked homeless. I know now that it probably wasn't Charlie, that's why I didn't tell you or Mama because I wasn't certain it was her and I wanted to call Bill just to make sure she was still with the same family", "I'm not to sure about that" Stef replies to me as she opens her laptop, "Wh.. what do you mean?", "I mean I have a big feeling that the girl you saw is Charlie" my mouth is suddenly agape "What.. how do you know? What is going on Mom?".

Stef holds my hands and then tells me the story of Lena meeting Charlie yesterday at school, at my school, the school where I was yesterday, I was just a few rooms away from Charlie and I didn't even know. I feel a mix of sadness and anger, why did Moms not tell me, would they even have told me if they hadn't found out about my phone call to Bill. My mind is racing and by the end of Stef talking I am up on my feet, pacing across the room, I realise I have tears running down my cheeks. I knew I should have followed her, that feeling in my gut was right, it's always right, why didn't I follow my gut, I continue pacing the room anxiously chewing on my thumbnail. Stef is again following me with her gaze, she is obviously giving me time to take in all this new information, after a few minutes I ask "So what do we do now? We have to find her!", "That's why I have taken today off, I'm going to try my hardest to find information on where to find her, now that I know you saw her outside your work and Lena saw her at the school I am pretty positive that she will be close by" I stop pacing and look at Stef "Well I am going to stay at home with you then, I couldn't think straight yesterday anyway, today will be even worse, I want to help", "Cal, you can't miss school. You have only been back for a day and.." I interrupt "I don't care, I'm not going to school Mom!" I am raising my voice which causes a unimpressed look to appear on Stefs face "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I promise I will go to school tomorrow and Brandon can bring my work home for me, so please _please_ can I help you today?" I can see Stef coming around to the idea "Okay, _Okay" _she raises her hands up in surrender "I'll text Mama" I smile slightly as I sit back down on the couch as Stef is texting, she puts her phone down next to the laptop and puts her arm around my shoulders "Now let's find our girl".

**What do you think of the story so far? Please leave reviews. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Charlie POV**

I open my eyes to the sun creeping through the leaves of the tree above me, I slept in the local park last night. Although I didn't sleep too well it was actually kind of peaceful knowing that I didn't have anyone to worry about apart from myself, maybe I can do this, maybe I can do life alone. I push my body up into a sitting position, my whole body feels as though it is on fire, I can't help but let out a groan as I move my body so it's resting against the tree trunk. I am mostly hidden where I am sitting, making me reasonably unnoticed by the passers-by, I can stay here for a while but I know as winter approaches it will begin to get too cold to stay out here. I know there is a group of people that live under the bridge on the south side of town, I could head there but I have also heard a few horror stories about the kind of people that live there. I have been told that people become very possessive over their very little amount of property, this results in fights and even fatalities. I shake the image out of my head, I think I would rather be alone then associate myself with those people. Maybe I can find a youth shelter? I think about this option but it soon dawns on me that they will probably just hand me straight back into the system or even juvie once they hear I am a foster runaway. I sigh to myself and look up at the tree, this will do for now, at least until my body heals up. I wince as I pull my shirt up to examine my torso "shit" I say to myself, three quarters of my stomach is covered in multiple bruises ranging in colour from purple, bright red and almost black, that's not good. I can feel from my movements that I probably have a few broken ribs too, this I can deal with I have had them before. My main worry is the dull throbbing in my head that is causing me to feel nauseous and dizzy, If it gets any worse I will have to try see a doctor but for now I will get myself to the local pharmacy and buy some aspirin.

By lunchtime I have managed to get myself some painkillers, the man at the pharmacy kept looking me up and down, unsurprisingly he didn't ask if I was okay though, there are very few people that acknowledge the homeless in this city. Along with the painkillers I filled my bag up with food and a bottle of water. I'm tearing through my money like crazy, I am going to have to be more careful from now on, I don't know when the next time I will come into more money will be.

I took the painkillers as soon as I left the pharmacy which was about thirty minutes ago, they have started to kick in now making it a lot easier to walk. Luckily the walk back to the park isn't too far and I get there within twenty five minutes, it would have been faster but I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. When I am once again under the tree I take a deep breath and support my body down to the ground, sitting down and standing up seems to be the hardest. Once I'm settled I pull out some bread, smelling the bread before I take a bite, I have been so hungry that I just want to eat the whole roll now but I know I need to save it, I let out a sarcastic snigger as I realise I am better fed being homeless than in a actual foster home, how fucked up is that. I eat a quarter of the roll before I wrap it back up and place it in my bag, I feel my eyes becoming heavy as tiredness overcomes my body and mind, it must be the injuries and the painkillers. Making sure I am concealed by the brunches in the trees I place my head a top of my bag and close my eyes as I quickly succumb to unconsciousness.

**Stef POV**

"DAMMIT!" I slam my hands on the coffee table, I am getting nowhere, I have searched everywhere I can think of to track Charlies whereabouts but there are no leads, not even a single inkling to where she could be living or any information regarding her past. Callie has been on the phone all morning but she hasn't had any luck in that department either. I look up to Callie walking back into the living area "Okay, thank you anyway" I hear her say, she sounds just as I feel, defeated, she ends her phone call and throws the phone on the nearest armchair. She makes her way over to me and sits down, resting her head on my shoulder "Still nothing?" she asks me, I wish I could give her a better answer but the truth is we are no closer then we were to finding Charlie as we were when we started this morning "Sorry love, I still haven't been able to find anything". Callie lets out a sigh and lifts her head off my shoulder to place her face in her hands "What are we going to do Mom? No one is talking to us, we are not considered Charlies family anymore so we are not entitled to any information, this feels impossible!". I wish I could say something to help, to make the situation better but in all honestly Callie is right, we are not getting any closer, I am a police officer yet I cannot find any information whatsoever. I wrap Callie up in a hug "we will keep trying love, she is close, I know she is. Lena said she believes Charlie walked to the school and you saw her walking past work meaning she is out and about, it's not impossible, it just might be a bit harder then we initially thought" I give Callie a reassuring smile but it's met with a look of uncertainty. Suddenly that look submits a glimmer of hope "What if we drive around town? you just said she is out and about, i know it's a long shot but we might just see her and we are no closer to finding her from sitting here are we?" It is a long shot, a very long shot but Callie is right, we are having no luck here so what the heck, I stand up and grab my car keys "Lets try our luck, lets go" Callie is quick to jump up and follow me out the door.

We decide to start off at the school since that was the last place Charlie was seen, the car is silent as Callie and I look at the crossroads outside of the school entry. I try to think to myself what way a thirteen year old girl would go "If it were me I would walk along the beach.. as a foster child I never really had the opportunity to go to a beach so that's what I would do and if Charlie is anything like me she would have done the same" a wave of sadness hits me, I hate having to think of the life Callie had before we found each other, I know there is nothing I can do to change the past but it still hurts when the subject comes up. I give Callie a small smile before I turn down the road that runs along the beach. We come across a group of shops and the art museum "What if we ask in the shops if anyone saw her?" Callie asks me "We don't have a photo but it is a good idea, I'm guessing by the way you and Lena described her that she should be easy to describe to other people" "Well she looks like me doesn't she? We can just ask if they have seen a girl like me but.. I guess scruffier" I look to Callie, she could be a cop one day, she is full of ideas "Good idea love". I pull the car into the nearest car park, we jump out and start off towards the shops.

Three shops down and we are still not any closer, Callie is almost stomping out of the third store I can sense her frustration "We still have a few more to go love, don't give up yet" Callie ignores me as she makes her way into the next store. I walk behind Callie as she walks towards the counter "Hi, how can I help you today?" "Hi, we are just wondering if you saw a girl in this area yesterday? She looks similar to me only a bit younger, she may have looked a bit messy and she had a bruise on her face" Callie says to the store clerk, he takes a good look at Callie "I do remember seeing a girl yesterday. I wouldn't usually take much notice to people walking past the store but this girl grabbed my attention due to the bruise on her face" I see Callie's face light up as I too feel a smile form on my lips, finally, finally we have something to go by, I jump in at this point "Did you see where she went or where she was heading? We are trying to find her" "She went into the art museum, she must have stayed for a little over an hour because I saw her again as I was closing up the store, she headed up Frankburn Street" says the store clerk "Thank you, thank you so much!" Callie blurts out before she almost skips out the door, I thank the man too before I follow Callie out. I know it's not much but at least it is something. Callie almost knocks me over as she turns around and embraces me in a hug, I hug her back with a smile, it's nice to see hope on her beautiful face again. We head back to the car, I start up the ignition and we head towards Frankburn Street.

**Callie POV**

I can't believe we finally have some more information, I was losing hope but now I have a feeling we might find her, we just have to keep talking to people, I will knock on every house door if I have too. I look over to Stef she is just turning the car into Frankburn Street now, it's a long straight street with lots of houses that are very close together, the houses at the start of the street were well kept but as we continue to drive down they seem to get very worse for wear. I scrunch up my nose, this seems all so familiar, I have lived in houses like this before, during my time in the foster system. The bad feeling in stomach returns, I really hope that Charlie isn't living in one of these houses. My thoughts get cut short as Stef pulls the car to the side of the road "What are we doing?" I ask her, she points her finger at an elderly lady who is working on her garden, it's the one house on this end of the street that looks tidy "Let's ask her if she has seen Charlie" Stef says to me, I nod and we both jump out of the car.

We walk over to the lady and Stef is quick to ask her about Charlie, surprisingly the lady gives us a big grin "Oh yes, I know Charlie, lovely girl she is. She always stops to say hello when she walks past", "Does she walk past often?" I ask, I notice Stef is smiling at me from the corner of my eye, she always says how we are the very much the same so maybe she was just about to ask the same question. The lady nods "Every week or so, she said she likes to get out of her house during the day and she loves to admire the work I have done in my garden. We only ever talk for a few minutes at a time but she always makes time to tell me how good the gardens are looking" the lady in front of me now had a big grin on her face, she was obviously very proud of her gardens "Your gardens are very lovely Mrs...?", "Mrs Grady but most people call me Paula" Paula answers. Paula is very lovely, maybe I jumped to conclusions about this street it might not be too bad after all. Stef is quick to ask a few more questions "I'm Stef and this is my daughter Callie, Charlie is Callies sister and we are trying to find her. Do you have anymore information that might be able to help us?" Paula pauses for a while before she begins to speak again "Like I said we didn't have too many in-depth conversations but she did mention that she lived a few blocks away, she said she lived in a motel but I can't quite remember the name.. maybe it started with an S.. Sunny something.. I'm sorry I really can't remember the name of it" Paula looks as if she is deep in thought "She did mention that when she doesn't walk this way she likes to go and sit in the Fairfield park on the corner of Fairfield street and Turnmount Street, I remember this as she collected a bunch of flowers for me from there a few weeks ago. I was very surprised but very grateful, she said that I was one of the good ones and that I deserve to get flowers." Paula pauses before she starts to talk again "Is she okay? she is a very lovely girl, I know she had something going on in her life, sometimes she had bruises on her face but she always said she had had an accident and waved it off. I didn't ever press her further because she was already walking away down the street" Sadness overwhelms me again as I think about the abuse I have endured in the past and knowing that Charlie has been through the same makes my stomach churn. I am looking down at the ground now, I just want to find her. I listen as Stef talks a bit more to Paula "We hope so, we are going to try our best to find out and make sure she is safe. Here is my number" Stef hands Paula her card "If you hear anything or see Charlie again please give me a call, thanks for talking to us Paula". I give Paula a nod and a smile before I follow Stef back to the car, we take a seat and Stef is already busy on her phone "What now?" I ask, "I am just searching all the motels that are in a 5km radius to where we are now" after a few beats Stef all but yells "Ahh here we go, there is a Sunny Cresent Motel on Turnmount Street and it is also close to Fairmount Park" Stef looks at me with a big smile on her face, she looks so optimistic, I can't believe we have gone from having nothing to maybe having the place where Charlie lives. I smile back at Stef, this is good news, heck this is great news but I still cannot lose the feeling of worry that is bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

Five minutes later we are pulling Stefs SUV into Sunny Cresent Motel, I look at the entirety of the motel, it doesn't look like a pleasant place to live. It is run down and there are a few people sitting outside the rooms smoking cigarettes, some of them look as if they could be on drugs. Stef pulls into the nearest car park, she turns the car off before she looks at me "I'm going to go and talk to reception, you stay here with the doors _locked_ okay" she is not asking me she is telling me, she must not have a good feeling about this place too, I reply to Stef with a quick nod of my head. Stef jumps out of the car and I hear her lock all the doors behind her, although this does not look like a place where a foster child should be placed I really wouldn't be surprised if this is where Charlie has been living, the system is so messed up. I close my eyes and rest my head on the headrest of the car.

Within five minutes I hear the car doors unlock and Stef jumps in beside me, I sit up and stare at Stef hoping for some news, any news. Stef is quick to respond to my thoughts "I talked to reception and they said a girl fitting my description lives in apartment 10B, she said that the girl had been there for a few months now" My heart is racing, and I feel myself sitting up further "I'm going to go up and knock on the door, i'll ask some questions but you need to stay in the car" "What!? No!? If Charlie is up there I need to go too, she probably won't trust you if I am not there with you" There is no way that I am staying in this car, I have already unbuckled my seatbelt and I am ready to knock on that apartment door. Just as I am about to open the car door I feel Stefs hand upon my arm "You stay right behind me okay, there are some people here that I know we cannot trust and I am _not_ letting anything happen to you today. Lena would kill me if she knew I am letting you do this with me" I cannot help the small smile that appears on my lips "I promise I won't do anything stupid and I will stay behind you, Lena doesn't have to know" Stef shakes her head as she jumps out of the car, I hop out too and make my way next to Stef, she holds my hand in hers and we make our way up to apartment 10B.

**Sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter, I wrote it on my phone which proved to be harder for me than on the computer. **

**Once again let me know what you think, or any ideas where you want this story to go.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Guest: Yes Callie and Jude are adopted, I mentioned this already a few chapters back :) **

**Stef POV**

I am walking hand in hand with Callie up the steps to apartment 10B, I do not like this place and I can't believe I am letting my daughter come up to this apartment with me but I know she is as stubborn as ever and she would not have stayed in the car. As we reach the top of the stairs I see an elderly woman smoking a cigarette, I recognise instantly that she is a drug user, I have seen many people just like her in my time as a police officer so I know all the signs. I pull Callie closer to me, I can feel the womans gaze looking us up and down as we walk past. I look up at the door where the woman is sitting in front of _9B_ and next to that door is _10B_. I look at Callie and I can see the worried look in her eyes, I give her hand a small squeeze before I turn back to the door to lift my fist up and knock three times. Thirty seconds pass with no response, I knock again three more times "What do you want Shaun for aye?" I turn around to acknowledge the woman who has decided to speak to us, her voice is raspy like she has smoked a pack of cigarettes for the past forty years of her life, from the look of her she probably has. I decide to reply as we are still trying to piece all our information together so anything helps at this point "We are looking for the girl that lives here" I state, I turn back to the door to knock again but before I get the chance the woman speaks again "Oh she is long gone, you ain't gonna find her here no more. Good riddance I say. She was a piece of work, lost Shaun his job he told me" I hold Callies hand tighter "What do you mean she is _long_ gone? Did social services come and get her?" I have a feeling this is not the case but I feel that could be the best case scenario at this point "Oh no, she just left. Ran away Shaun told me, even stole his money the little cow, karma will find her" the woman sniggers before she starts to cough up her lungs. I can feel Callie tense beside me and I know we need to end this conversation now, I turn away and knock on the door again making sure I am louder this time. Within a few minutes I hear movement coming from inside, I knock again and I hear a mans voice bellow from inside "SERIOUUSLY!" a few seconds later the door is aggressively opened and I am looking into the bloodshot eyes of a middle aged man. He looks Callie and I up and down, his eyes starring daggers towards Callie, almost like he recognises her. His eyes are filled with hatred which makes me want to get my daughter away from this place, away from this man, as soon as possible.

The smell of alcohol seeps out of the door that has just opened "Whaat du yuu want eyy? Knock'n on my dooor like that. Yoou wooke me uhp yu know!" this man is trashed, we need to find out about Charlie fast, I need to tread carefully I do not want to make him any angrier then he already is "Sorry I woke you" I say, my voice is filled with sarcasm "We are looking for Charlie Jacobs, we believe she lives, _lived_, here?" the man who I now know goes by the name of Shaun instantly responds "that girl ain't never stehping foot in ere again, she a lil bitch she is, stole from meh, ruin'd my life she did" he suddenly points his finger at Callies face, my heart begins to race and I step directly in front of Callie "Yu know you kinda look like her you du, well maybe not noow" he laughs, an evil, horrible laugh "I'm not sorrry, she deserev'd what she got she did, I don't even know hoow she woulda walked aft'r that one" I just want to smack this man, I want to arrest him and send him to jail; how was he ever allowed to foster a child. Callie breaks her silence "WHAT DID YOU DO TO CHARLIE?" Callie is trying to push towards this man, I can feel her anger radiating, I push my arm up to keep her away from Shaun as best I can. Shaun snickers "I jusst put her in place I did, she need'd to learn the hard waay. Thought she was betta then erryone she did. She is scum, shoulda never let her intu my homee!" Shaun slams the door in our face, I pull Callie towards the stairs and we quickly make it down to the car, as we jump in I instantly lock all the doors. I look over to Callie who has tears running down her face "We have to find her Mom" she is absolutely sobbing now, I move towards her and embrace her in a hug, I feel my eyes welling up with tears "We will love, I promise you I am going to do everything in my power to find your sister".

**Charlie POV**

This time I wake up to a football rolling into my leg, I hear small footsteps heading in my direction and I open my eyes to see a small boy running towards me, he must not be any older then eight. I sit up with a groan and look up to the boy who is now looking me in the eyes "Are you okay?" he asks in a quiet voice, this is the first time in a while that someone has asked me this, Paula is the only one that use to ask but she stopped asking once she realised I never wanted to talk about it and walked away before the conversation could even start. I open my mouth to reply but I'm cut off by a woman who is standing a few metres away "Sam, come back here" the boy picks up the ball, gives me a empathetic smile and quickly makes his way back to the woman who I'm only assuming is his mother. I can just hear her as she talks to the boy "I told you not to talk to strangers, especially the homeless" the two turn around but I can still just make out the rest of their conversation "They are dangerous Sam". The comment makes me want to crawl into my skin and hide from the world, am I now considered dangerous because I don't have a home, because I am sleeping in a park I can't be trusted. I guess she is just trying to protect her son but I would have never hurt him. I guess I am just part of the stereotype now. I look down at my clothes, I am still in the same jeans and black ribbed shirt as I was yesterday, I feel dirty, I officially _feel_ homeless.

My stomach rumbles reminding me to have some food, I reach into my duffel bag to grab out my bread roll when my hand stumbles across the enrolment papers that I had placed in my bag yesterday. I pull them out and look them over, as soon as I read the name _Anchor Beach Charter School_ my heart skips a beat, yesterday I had been so excited to enrol myself in school but now, but now I don't even know what is happening in my life. Where am I going to be next week, where am I going to be tomorrow. I hate that my future is so unpredictable, I thought that running away would help me take charge of my life but I feel more lost now then I did before. My mind starts to roll through ideas, what if I forged Shauns signature, then I might be able to still go to school, I would have to do a lot of lying which I hate to do but I would be able to shower in gym class and maybe I could even sleep under the pier at the beach. I think over this idea, running through the possibilities of what could go wrong. A _lot_ could go wrong but if it goes right then my plan would be perfect. I have no better ideas so what the heck I may as well give it a shot and if it doesn't work then I can just keep running. My thoughts take me back to the woman at the school, Lena her name was, she looked at me like she wanted to help me, maybe I could just talk to her, maybe I could tell her the truth and she could really help me, this is a second option. Either way I need to get back to that school, it's my best bet to actually take control of my life and my future. I brush my hands through my hair, trying to make myself look better, look less _homeless_, I hate having people starring at me as I walk through town. I reach back into my duffel bag and grab out some food and painkillers, I take a bite of my bread roll and a big drink of water to wash down the pain killers. I have decided that I will start the walk back to the school this evening as it might take me a while with the current state of my body and tomorrow morning I will decide whether I am going to try enrol myself in school or talk to Lena.

Ten minutes later I have gathered up all my belongings and I am making my way towards the road, I am only on the footpath for a few minutes before my attention is drawn to the sound of car quickly braking behind me. I turn around to see where the noise has come from and I see a black SUV pulling to the side of the road just behind me, I don't think much of it so I quickly turn back around and continue walking. Next minute I hear two car doors open and a voice yell out down the street, a voice that has just said my name. I don't know whether I should try to start running or if I should turn around "Charlie?" I hear the voice again, this time I take in the tone and it sounds calm, the voice sounds friendly, it almost sounds familiar. I stop walking and I decide to turn my body around and look at the person behind the voice.

**Sorry for the short chapter, I really struggled to write this one. I have had so many ideas to how this story is going to go but as I write it continues to change. Hope you enjoy! **

**I know this story seems to be moving slowly but if people are still enjoying this idea and the story I will aim to bring some more exciting/drama filled storylines in the future. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Callie POV**

I can't believe our luck, luck is never usually on my side but within two minutes of pulling out of that horrid motel I notice a girl walking out of the local park, a girl that looks very much the same as the girl I saw a few weeks ago. I yell out "Stop!" Stef suddenly breaks "What is it love?", "Look" I point "I think that's Charlie", Stef instantly pulls the car towards the curb and I am quick to jump out. I notice the girl has started to walk a bit faster so she is a bit ahead of us now "Charlie!" I yell, she doesn't respond. Stef is now at my side as we follow behind the girl "Charlie!" I yell again, this time in a calmer voice, I don't want to scare her away. The girl I believe to be Charlie has now stopped walking, she seems to be hesitant to look at us. After a few beats of desperation the girl slowly turns towards Stef and I, the instant I look into her eyes I know for certain that she is Charlie Jacobs, this girl is my baby sister. We are staring into each others eyes when I notice her brow furrows in confusion, "Callie?" Charlie asks in a disbelieving tone. I have no control over my body at this point and I race up to Charlie and wrap my arms around her, I feel her flinch under my embrace. Stepping back I look her over, she has multiple bruises on her face and she has quickly moved her arm and placed it across her stomach. Her face is scrunched up in pain and I know that man has seriously hurt my sister. I can't help the tears that start to well up in my eyes, I wish I could have stopped this from happening. I notice now that Stef has made her way over to us "Hi Charlie" Charlie is looking down at the ground now, she hasn't made any more attempts to communicate or even look in the direction of Stef or I. Stef continues to talk "My name is Stef, i'm Callies Mom" Charlie looks up at me now, she has tears in her eyes but soon gives me a small smile "She's your Mom?" she asks me, "Yeah she is, you can trust her" I smile "Actually I have two Moms" I exclaim. Charlie looks to Stef and then back to me "That's cool, I'm glad you have a family" she pauses "Jude?" "Jude is with us too, he is doing really well" I tell Charlie. She smiles again "That's good" I notice this time that the smile hasn't reached her eyes, rather her eyes are filled with many different emotions. Charlie quickly removes eye contact and looks down again. I reach out to grab Charlies hand, giving it a squeeze "You're okay now, I found you. You're safe".

**Charlie POV**

I'm looking down at the hand that is currently holding mine, I am so confused, is this a dream? maybe I am high on painkillers? but this seems so real. I look up into the eyes of Callie, my big sister Callie, I have dreamt about this moment so many times in my life. I _know_ this isn't a dream, this is different, this is _actually_ happening. I look to the woman standing next to Callie, I think she said her name was Stef, she seems nice, she is giving me a reassuring smile but I still don't trust her, I struggle to trust anyone these days. Callie and Stef are staring at me, I don't really know what to say, I mean what does this mean? What happens now? My thoughts are cut short as Stef starts to talk "We just talked to Shaun" What? They talked to Shaun? How do they even know about Shaun? "I'm so sorry he hurt you love but i'm going to make sure no one ever hurts you ever again" I look up into Stefs eyes, she looks so sincere, her voice is almost soothing, how is that possible she is a stranger to me. The distrust that I felt for her is slowly fading but I know I can't let it fade completely, it is whenever I start to trust someone that things begin to go badly for me. I move my eyes from Stef to Callie "H..how do you know about Shaun? How are you even here? standing in front of me right now?" Callie begins to tell me the story of how she saw me outside of her work, she than tells me that her Mama is the principal at Anchor Beach Charter School, I feel my mouth go ajar before I stutter out "Wa..wait, your other Mom is Lena?" Callie nods her head in confirmation "You really did get lucky" I can't help but feel a hint of jealously, I wish I was that lucky. Callie almost knows what I had been thinking because she quickly exclaims "We were not always so lucky" She gives a small smile as Stef places a hand on Callie's back, Callie continues "but we will be able to share our stories later, the good _and_ the bad, okay?" I nod my head in response. Stef starts to talk to me again "Charlie, I know you are probably really confused right now and you will have so many thoughts running through your head" She definitely has that right "If you are okay with it, I would love for you to come and stay with Callie, our family and myself tonight? You will have somewhere to sleep and a meal but only if you are okay with it" My stomach rumbles as soon as I think about eating a proper meal, I look over to Callie and she gives me a reassuring smile and a small nod. This is so bizarre, I don't know If I should go or not but if I don't than I will be sleeping under a tree again and eating stale bread, I also don't believe that Callie and Stef are going to let me just walk away, so I reply with a simple "Okay".

**Stef POV**

I am currently driving back towards our home, I look into my rearview mirror at the two girls, Callie decided to sit in the back with Charlie. I stare at Charlie and I just can't get over the resemblance she has to Callie, I mean Lena had told me they looked alike but this is crazy, Charlie gazes up in my direction and we make eye contact through the mirror, _those eyes_, the _exact_ same eyes as Callie. Charlie is quick to relinquish eye contact as she moves her eyes to look out of her window. We go over a speed bump in the road and I notice her scrunch up her face in pain, once Charlie gets settled in at home I _really_ need to try look at her injuries, she probably needs to see a doctor but I doubt she will let us take her to see one, not tonight anyway. The car ride is a very silent one, Charlie hasn't said a word since we left the park and I don't want to push her to talk, Callie has opened her mouth a few times but she seems to change her mind about talking each time. As we pull into our driveway I look at the dashboard clock, 2:30pm, good the other kids won't be home for at least an hour, I don't want to overwhelm Charlie. I turn around and look at the two girls in the back seat "We're home", Callie jumps out first and walks around to Charlies side, she must have noticed Charlie flinching in the car too as she holds her hand out to help Charlie climb out of the car door. Charlie seems surprised at first but she is soon to willingly accept Callies help. Once Charlie is out of the car she looks up towards our house "Wow, you have a beautiful home" she exclaims before she goes to grab her duffel bag out of the car "Oh I'll grab that love" picking up the bag I turn to Callie "Why don't you show Charlie around the house sweets" Callie gives me a small nod before she leads Charlie inside. Once I see the girls make their way inside the door and I can no longer see them I lean my back against my car, I let out the sigh that I have been holding in for the past forty minutes, I can't believe we found her. I put my head into my hands as thoughts begin to flood my brain, I need to talk to Lena and find out who Charlie's social worker is, I need to talk to the kids, _Jude_, Jude doesn't even know we were trying to find Charlie what is he going to say when she is here when he gets home. _So_ many thoughts are rushing through my head it's overwhelming, I push myself off from the car, one step at a time, this will turn out okay, it will all be okay I think to myself as I head towards the house.

Once I make it inside I notice that the girls are not downstairs, Callie must be showing Charlie around upstairs. I walk up the staircase and find them in Callie and Marianas bedroom, leaning on the doorframe I watch as the girls are looking at the photo Callie has on her bedside table. The photo is of the whole family on mine and Lenas wedding day, I smile at the memory, Charlie picks up the photo before she runs her finger over the photo "Jude?" she says as more of a question than a statement "Yeah, that's Jude" Callie replies with a smile "He is so tall now, I mean he was tall to me before but he looks _so_ tall now" Charlie says, I'm glad she feels comfortable talking, after she didn't talk in the car I was worried that that wouldn't be the case. I walk into the room and place Charlie's bag at the foot of Callie's bed "I'm sorry I haven't sorted an area for you to sleep yet love but I promise I will have it sorted for tonight, Okay?" Callie is quick to jump in "You can sleep in my bed! I can take the couch, I mean you really shouldn't be sleeping on the couch in your... in your cond.. because you're.." I notice Callie blush, I know that she was going to bring up Charlies injuries "No.. no it's okay, I really don't want to kick you out of your bed, It's fine I can sleep on the couch" Charlie replies to Callie before looking over to me "Thank you" she smiles. I smile back before I clap my hands together "Okay, now that Charlie has seen the house how about we get ourselves some food, I don't know about you two but I am _starving_" I know that probably wasn't the correct word to use in front of Charlie as just by looking at her frail figure I can tell she must not have had a proper meal in weeks, she is _literally_ starving, but my comment wasn't met with anger or even sadness, my comment is met with a smirk before Charlie replies "_I_ could totally do with some food".

**Charlie POV**

I look down at the big sandwich in front of me, I haven't eaten something like this in a long time, maybe even years. I think I am in a state of disbelief because I am yet to start eating even though I can see Callie and Stef have already taken a few bites from theirs. Callie must have noticed that I was in a daze because she reaches over and gives my arm a little squeeze of reassurance, I pick up the sandwich and take a bite, I relish in each chew I take, this is incredible. Within a few minutes it surprises me how full I am, I look down at the sandwich and I have not even eaten half of it yet, not eating must really shrink your appetite. I look up to Stef "Is your sandwich okay?" she asks me "Yes, yes it is delicious, thank you. I'm just full" Stef gives me a worried look in reply but I just ignore it.

After Callie and Stef have finished their sandwiches Stef stands up and starts to grab the three plates, once she reaches for mine I quickly grab the sandwich off the plate, Callie and Stef both turn to look at me "I.. uh.. do you mind if I save this for later?" It surprises me when neither of them question my actions but rather share a look of understanding "Of course love, I will grab you something to wrap it in" Stef heads to the pantry to grab out some cling film. She hands it to me "Thank you" I look down and wrap up the sandwich. I go to stand up to take it to my duffel bag, flinching at my movements, at this I realise that I also really need to take some more painkillers, "Wait for a minute love" I stop and turn to Stef, I'm still surprised by being referred to as love, it makes my heart jump a little each time. I sit back down trying not to flinch again to mask the fact that my stomach is now burning from pain, "Yeah?" "Now that you are here, I'm going to have to talk to your social worker, I _know_ that you probably don't want to talk about this right now but we really have to get this sorted as soon as possible especially as they believe you are still living with Shaun" I knew this conversation was going to come eventually, I just hoped it wouldn't be so soon, they are going to send me to another home. I give Steph a nod "Tim Hamilton from Foster to Forever" "Thanks" Stef gives me a smile before she hold my hand in hers, this is the first time Stef has made physical contact with me and it feels.. it feels nice. She gives my hand a squeeze "I will track down his number and give him a call" I nod before I look down at the hand holding mine, the reassuring gesture makes me feel comfortable in what I am about to ask "Can I meet Jude before I go?". Both Stef and Callie seems taken aback by my comment but Callie is the one to quickly reply "_Go_, you're not going anywhere? Right Mom?" Callie looks to Stef for clarification, at this I look to Stef too "No, you're not going, definitely not tonight, however.." oh there is always a however, I knew it couldn't be as good as I hoped this situation would be "we don't know exactly what is going to happen but for now I'm going to call your social worker and let them know you are with us, we still have a current foster license so that should be okay on their end" I nod in Stefs direction "They will ask me how you ended up here with Lena and I, so for that I need to know exactly what happened in Shauns house. Do you think you can do that?" I'm a bit shocked at what Stef has just asked of me, I don't ever share my foster experiences with other people; as when I have in the past it is usually met with me being told I am a lier and then getting shipped off to a new home. Will Stef even believe me, I mean I do have the injuries to back it up but that doesn't always help with my case. I decide that Stef is definitely different then the others though so I give her a nod "I will tell you".

**Here it is another chapter, hope you enjoy it. So I have kind of figured out how the next few chapters are going to go but I wanted to ask if people would be interested in the story being carried on further once we learn about Charlies past and what will happen with Charlie and the fosters, will she stay or go? If I carry on with the story I might bring people in from Charlies past (effecting not only Charlie but the rest of the fosters clan too) which could entail a bit of drama/angst. Let me know if you want me to continue past the initial story I had planned. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Made it to chapter 10, stoked! **

_Guests: I have had a few people talking about the twins being unhappy or not approve of Charlie being in their home forever (I have not decided fully how the story will play out) but I just thought i'd present my thoughts on the topic. The reasoning for the twins to be angry, that many people have mentioned, is the fact that Stef and Lena did not adopt Isabella. My thoughts on this is that Isabella had Ana and Mike, Stef and Lena also said no as they believed Ana didn't really want to give Isabella up rather she was suffering from post natal depression. Whereas Charlie literally has no one, no family. It's a very different situation. _

**Stef POV**

Charlie has just finished telling me about her experience living in Shauns home, it shocked me how emotionless she was throughout the whole conversation. It was almost as if she was telling the story about events that happened to someone else rather then herself. Halfway through the story I noticed Callie shed a few tears but she was quick to wipe them away, she is always the one to try and stay strong for her family. I can now hear the girls having a chat in the living room, they already look to be comfortable in each others company, which is slightly surprising considering how long it took Callie to feel comfortable when she first came to live in our home. I pick up my phone to ring Tim Hamilton, Charlies social worker, I found his number on the _Foster to Forever _page. I press the number into the keypad and then put the phone up to my ear. After a few rings a males voice answers on the other end "Hello, you have reached Tim Hamilton from Foster to Forever. How can I help you?" "Hi Tim, my name is Stefanie Adams-Foster. I believe you are Charlotte Jacobs social worker?" Tim is quick to reply "Ah yes I am, has she done something?" He almost sounds irritated "No.. no she hasn't I just wanted to call to let you know that Charlie is currently with me at my home. Did you know she was sleeping on the streets last night?". There is a pause before Tim begins to speak again "As far as I know Charlotte had been in the care of.." I interrupt then "In the _care_ of Shaun. Yes she was until he severely beat her yesterday afternoon, I'm not surprised that he didn't let you know that Charlie had run away as he was high as a kite when I saw him today". Tim seems to be taking in what I just told him because it takes a good minute before he replies "I.. uh.. i'm sorry you have been dragged into this Mrs Adams-Foster, what is your address? I will have someone come and collect Charlotte as soon as possible" of course this is his first solution "I don't want Charlie to be collected and put into _another_ unfit foster home Tim, my partner and I have a current foster license so for now Charlie is okay to stay here with us. We actually adopted Charlie's big brother and sister a few years ago" There is another moment of silence on the other end of the phone "Hello? Tim?" "Oh yes, sorry Mrs Adams-Foster, I didn't know that Charlie had any siblings it is not mentioned in her file. She has had a few social workers throughout her time in foster care so sometimes information tends to get left behind" I cant help but roll my eyes and this is why the system fails so many children "Yes she does, a wonderful brother and sister that believed Charlie had been adopted almost ten years ago but I will talk to you about that when I see you" I want to find out about Charlies past but now is not the time we just need to sort out her livings arrangements at this moment "Mrs Adams-Foster.." "You can call me Stef" "Okay, Stef. I'm sorry but it is not in our protocol to place a child in someones home that is not in _our_ system. Meaning Charlotte is not to be in your care until the appropriate paperwork and screening process for _Foster to Forever_ has been completed" I can't help the scoff that escapes my lips, obviously not a very good screening process "And how long does that take Tim, Shouldn't us having a current foster license be enough? We have already been through this process many times and you are going to need to find emergency care anyway right?" Tims voice is now what of a stutter "Well.. yes.. that is true Stef. But our protocol states.." I feel frustration building up inside me now "I don't really care what your protocol states Tim. Send me the paperwork I need to sign, I will have it sent back to you within the next hour" "Mrs Adams.. sorry Stef. It is not that simple" I know I am probably not being the easiest person to talk to at the moment but unfortunately I am as stubborn as ever so i'm not going to budge at this point "Where will you be sending Charlie if she is not in my home tonight?" "Well.. well i'm not sure yet but.." "exactly, then I am saving you the trouble of finding somewhere for her tonight. She has a perfectly good place to sleep and we can discuss Charlies living arrangements more in detail when I meet you" I can hear a large sigh come from the other end of the phone "Okay Stef, it _would_ be hard to find somewhere for Charlie tonight on such short notice. We would not usually do this because it's not protocol" I roll my eyes again, how many times does this man have to say protocol, I continue listening to Tim on the other line "but on this one occasion I will allow Charlie to stay in your care. I will send you all the relevant documents and if you can send them back as soon as possible that would be great" "I will. Thank you Tim" "Ehem yes, I will also be calling the state for a reference towards your past foster situations" "That will be no issue" I reply. We exchange details to start the process of Charlie's temporary living arrangements and organise Tim to come for a meeting in two days from now. Tim couldn't find time in his schedule for tomorrow. "Great see you in a few days Tim" "Yes, goodbye Stef. I will let you know once all the paperwork has been finalised, it should only take a few hours as this is an emergency case" we end the call and I give a sigh in relief, at least I can ensure Charlie a few nights in a safe place. I look up to the clock, Lena and the rest of the kids should be home soon, I sent her a text before we ate lunch but she has yet to reply. I grab my laptop out of my bag and decide to get started on this paperwork, I want everything to be sorted so we are free to relax and get to know Charlie this evening. Hopefully she will let me have a look at her injuries I could tell at lunchtime that they were really bothering her, I tried to bring the subject up when she was talking about Shaun but she was quick to tell me she was fine, the similarities between her and Callie are already growing. I sit in front of the laptop and open the unread email from Tim, a small smile escapes my lips, I am still in a state of shock in the fact that Charlie is currently sitting in my house and i'm going to do everything in my power to keep her safe.

**Charlie POV **

Stef is currently talking to Tim in the kitchen, I wonder how that is going to go.. he is not the nicest social worker I have had that's for sure; he is always very serious and to the point. Stef said that she is going make sure I can stay here tonight and she will organise a meeting regarding my future living arrangements, she didn't really go into detail and I decided not to ask, I don't want to get my hopes up about staying here. Callie and I have been talking for a few minutes now, she has told me all about her family here, she has Jude and two other adoptive brothers Brandon and Jesus, she also has an adoptive sister called Mariana. Anxiety overcomes me knowing i'm going to be meeting all these new people soon, Callie seems to notice because she is quick to tell me that all her siblings are really great and she's sure they will love to meet me.

After Callie has told me about her family she begins to ask me questions about my time in foster care, I shouldn't be surprised that these questions have come so soon and I'm still not used to talking about myself to anyone. Callie asks some easy questions first such as if i have been going to school and how long I was at Shauns for, these answers just slip off my tongue. However, I wasn't ready for the one that followed "Soo.." Callie begins "I'm so sorry we didn't find you sooner, I did try once but I didn't get anywhere so I stopped. I mean Jude and I thought you were adopted. When they took you away they said you were getting adopted? What happened Charlie?" I am instantly taken back from this question being thrown at me, I haven't been asked about this part of my life for a long time, heck I haven't even thought about this part of my life since it happened. I can't wrangle up the words to start my story, I feel my mouth open and shut a few times but nothing comes out, Callie reaches out and holds my hand in hers, it's weird how one simple gesture can help sooth the many emotions that are currently floating around in my head. I move my eyes to look at the hand holding mine for the second time today, so much has changed in just a few hours.

Eventually I get the courage to start telling Callie about how I got to where I am today. The start of my journey into the foster system is a bit of a blur, I mean I was only four, I feel my eyebrows scrunch together as I try to remember right from the very beginning "I don't really remember mum dying, I remember you and Jude crying and Dad being taken away. I remember you telling me that everything would be okay, you said that the kind man was going to take me to a new family, a fun family, you gave me a hug and then said goodbye. I remember trying to stay with you and Jude but the man picked me up and took me away" Callie is looking at me with sadness in her eyes as I recall our last moments together as a family, she doesn't say anything so I keep talking "The man, I can't remember his name because I only saw him that one time, he took me to an office building where I met Brian, Brian was my first social worker" Callie gives me a nod of encouragement to keep going "Brian is the one who took me to Sandra and Gregs house, my _forever family_, that's what Brian, Sandra and Greg told me anyway and I believed it, I truly believed it" I can't help the tears that have slowly started to form in the corner of my eyes, I haven't talked about my time at Sandra and Gregs for years so all the emotions that I have been holding in are slowly starting to bubble up to the surface. Callie gives my hand a squeeze and I continue talking "Sandra and Greg were really nice, they said they always wanted a daughter and I was the perfect girl to fill that place in their family. I was with them for about a year but I never officially got adopted, they said they were planning to but it was a long process before they could officially become my Mom and Dad. They were really nice and I loved living with them, they would buy me toys and we would have a delicious roast dinner every Sunday night" I smile at the memories flooding back "but then one day everything changed" my smile turns into a frown "I was at school and something happened, I was playing running games on the school field, where I blacked out" concern instantly fills Callies face and I have to look away from her before I continue "I remember glimpses of being in an ambulance and then at the hospital with lots of people around me. I was there for a few days before I went back home, well to Sandra and Greg's home. A few weeks later it happened again, I remember this one more because of the pain I felt here" I point to the centre of my chest "over the next few months the doctors did lots of tests and it turned out my heart wasnt working the way it should have been. Sandra and Greg were really nice about it to begin with, they kept telling me that everything would be okay. Once again I believed them" I scoff at the memory of how once again my trust in someone went badly for me. Callie is still watching me, listening to every word I am saying so I decide to continue "I needed to have a few surgeries to get things working normally again, the first two went fine. I stayed in the hospital for a bit but I eventually went back to Sandra and Gregs. I was told I would need a third surgery as my heart was still not working how they would like it to be working. It was now when I noticed Sandra and Greg started acting differently towards me, they stopped looking me in the eyes and they stopped giving me hugs and kisses" sadness instantly fills my chest and I now can't help the tears falling down my cheeks, I am still surprised that I am sharing this much about myself but I guess once I started talking I couldn't stop. Callie is drawing small circles atop of my hand, small soothing circles. I take a deep breath in before I share one of the hardest moments of my life "Before I went into my third surgery I said bye to Sandra and Greg, Sandra squeezed my hand but Greg wouldn't even look at me. When I came out they were gone, they didn't come and see me in recovery or the days that followed. Next thing I know Brian is standing in my hospital room with a backpack of my belongings. He said that Sandra and Greg changed their minds, he said that I was too hard now because of my condition, that they didn't ask to have a _sick _child. My heart was truely broken in more ways then one and from that day I offically became a foster child, that day I was offically by myself". Once Callie knows I have finished talking she instantly pulls me into a gentle embrace, the tears are freely falling down my face now, there is no way I'm going to be able to stop them, I feel my body shaking in sobs. All of my emotions that I have been holding in for half my life are now finally escaping, escaping in full force.

**Well here it is, finally something about Charlie's past. What do you think? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Charlie POV**

Slowly my sobs turn to silent tears, my whole body aches and I feel like curling into a ball and ignoring the world around me. I can't believe I have just let all my walls down and shared one of the hardest moments of my life with somebody, even if that somebody is my sister. In reality I have only just met this girl who is currently holding me, I feel that I can trust her but I don't actually _know_ her. For all I know I am going to be pulled out of this house tomorrow and I will never see any of these people again in my life, leaving me with more emotional baggage, leaving me _more_ broken. I hear footsteps walking into the lounge, slowly I separate myself from Callie, my torso screaming in pain as I move my body, I really need to get those painkillers as soon as possible. I look towards the sound of the footsteps, Stef is now standing in the archway looking in "Sorry for interrupting, are you okay love?" I must look a mess by the expression Stef has on her face "Yeah.. yeah i'm fine" I use my sleeve to wipe my tear stricken cheeks. Stef gives me a small smile, she definitely has a way of making me feel safe, even from just being in the same room. Stef told me earlier that she is a police officer, I usually don't like police officers but Stef is different, Stef is nice. She moves further into the living room and sits in the armchair to the left of me "I called Tim and I have organised all the paperwork for you to stay with us for the next two nights" Stef gives me another smile and I can't help but smile back, a small smile but still a smile "Thanks" I reply "I have also organised a meeting with Tim which will be in two days. From there we can figure out what will be happening next" What does she mean by that? I would love to stay here but I feel that is very unlikely. There are already a lot of people that live in this house and it's not the biggest house, I don't want to leave but I also don't want to be a burden to the family. I want more information, I have so many questions but I can only muster up the courage to reply to Stef with "Okay" I guess i'll find out in two days.

**Lena POV**

I am waiting for the kids at the car, my fingers are tapping on my upper arm as my impatience is setting in. They one day I want to get home as soon as possible and the kids are taking forever. Stef texted me earlier telling me she had found Charlie and she was at our house, she didn't go into details but she said she will tell me everything tonight. I only just replied now saying I would be home soon, today was hectic so I didn't get the chance to earlier.

Finally I notice Jude making his way out of the school, he is walking alongside Connor and says a quick reply before he races over to the car, he gives me a hug before he jumps into the backseat. Ten minutes later all the kids have finally made it to the car and we are getting ready to leave the carpark, I don't know if I should tell the kids now about Charlie or wait until we get to the house. It's definitely going to be a shock, especially for Jude, and I do not want to blindside them with the news. I decide to talk to the kids before we leave the school, this means at least they will have the drive home to go over the news of someone new being in our house. Brandon is sitting next to me in the passenger seat and the three others are in the back, I turn my head around so I can see all four of the kids in my line of vision "So I have something I need to talk to you guys about" "Is it about why Callie wasn't at school today?" Brandon asks, before I have the chance to answer Jude is quickly talking "I thought I didn't see Callie today, Why wasn't she at school? Is she okay?" Jude has instant worry written on his face. I make sure to quickly cut that worry "Callie is fine, everything is fine. What i'm about to tell you is part of the reason why Callie was away" Silence fills the car as the kids patiently wait for me to talk. My thoughts jumble as I think about what i'm going to say next "Callie and Mom were busy today trying to find someone, someone you know Jude" Jude raises his eyebrows at me "Who was it?" "Well last week we found out that your sister Charlie was living in the area, we found out that she was in foster care" Jude begins to talk but shuts his mouth again, confusion clear on his face "I thought she was adopted" he eventually says before taking his eyes away from mine "We did too and I don't know what happened with that but unfortunately she wasn't. But what I do know is that Callie and your Mom found Charlie today and she is currently safe at home" Jude looks up at me again, he still looks utterly confused but a smile has formed on his lips "Let's get home then!" I let out my own smile before I turn to my other three children "How do you guys feel about this?" Jesus is the first to talk "Awesome! You know what I say I love having a big family, I will just have to set my alarm extra early for my morning shower now" He looks at his sister and winks, it's returned with an eye roll. I'm not surprised by Jesus's reaction he is the most laid back out of all my children. I turn to Mariana "What about you Mari?" she gives a shrug "um it's cool, like it's_ really_ awesome you have found her but..." she looks to Jude before she continues, I know Mariana and she wouldn't want to say anything to hurt her little brothers feelings, she turns back to me "our house is already really crowded with just us, I already have to have cold showers at least two times a week and where is she supposed to sleep" Mariana looks down and I can tell Jude is already getting worked up about Marianas reaction by the death stare she is receiving to the back of her head. I quickly try to cut the tension "We don't know what is going to happen _yet_, I need to talk to Mom first as I still don't know anything about Charlie's situation but I _do_ agree Mariana our house is very busy already". Jude looks up to me with a look of betrayal, oh god, why did I decide to do this on my own. This is one of the situations where I wish Stef was here with me to help. I look to Jude "I'm _not_ saying she isn't going to stay with us, i'm _just_ saying we haven't made a plan yet but I assure you.." I look to each one of my children "I _assure_ you we will keep you fully updated and you will all have a say in what we decide to do, _okay_?" I receive a nod from Jesus, Mariana and eventually Jude. It is at this moment that I notice Brandon hasn't been involved in any of the conversation that has just happened, he hasn't even looked towards myself or his siblings, turning towards him I place my hand on his forearm "You okay B?" he just stares through the front window "yep" "You sure?" "Yep" I give his arm a squeeze, I know Brandon has something going through his mind but I'll talk to him in private later. I start up the engine "Okay, well let's get home then" I pull the car out of the car park and start to drives towards home, I don't know what tonight is going to bring but I have a feeling it will be interesting.

**Charlie POV**

Stef, Callie and I have been talking in the living room for about five minutes now. We haven't been talking about anything in particular and Callie has stopped asking me questions about my past, she is probably worried I will break down again. Stef has asked me about my favourite food and if I have any hobbies in which I replied with Pizza, however, I stumbled a bit on the hobbies question, I don't really know if I have any hobbies, I haven't really had the opportunity to develop hobbies so I decided to reply with a simple "I quite like art; drawing and painting". Stef gave me a big unexpected grin at that comment "Lucky we have a few people in this house that like art" She gives Callie a wink "So if you feel like doing some drawing while you are here than just ask, we have lots of supplies" I can't help but smile at Stef, she seems so excited over something so small "Thanks" I say. Our conversation is cut by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway "That will be everyone else" Stef says as she jumps up to her feet "You ready to meet the rest of the village?" Stef says to me with a laugh. I don't know what to say, no i'm not ready, i'm not very good with people anyway let alone a whole group of strangers in an unfamiliar house but obviously i'm not going to say that out loud so I reply with a nod.

Within a minute the front door has opened and I hear footsteps as they make their way into the house, surprisingly no one seems to be talking, I wonder if they already know about me being here. "Good afternoon love" I recognise that voice, it's Lena's voice, Stef replies "Good afternoon my love, we are in the living room". A few seconds later Lena walks around the corner, she is followed by four teenagers, which I am presuming is Brandon, Jesus, Mariana and.. Jude. I look at the smallest of the four, I recognise him from the photo in Callie's room. At this moment everything feels a bit awkward, I feel like everyone is just staring at me, I look to Callie who gives me a small smile. Lena is the first to say anything "Hi Charlie" She smiles, a warm welcoming smile "It's nice to meet you _again_" It's at this point that I remember all the lies I told Lena last time we talked, I completely forgot about them and now she is going to know for sure that I was lying to her "I'm.. i'm so sorry I lied to you Lena, I didn't mean to lie but I did and I'm so sorry, I..." Lena walks closer to me, she holds her hand up in a gesture to tell me to stop talking "No need to apologise, it's fine. I'm just glad you are okay, you _are_ okay right?" I nod "I'm fine" Lena looks to Stef almost like she is asking for a second opinion. Stef doesn't reply but I know she gave Lena some kind of answer silently as Lena gives Stef a nod as if she is replying to her. Lena walks back towards the other kids "Well i'm going to go put my things away, why don't you lot make Charlie feel welcome" Jesus quickly makes his way over to me at this point he opens his arms and hugs me, I flinch at the contact, this is too much too soon "Nice to meet you new sis, i'm Jesus, the coolest one that lives in this house" he steps back and looks at me, I let out a small smile, although this is super awkward at least he is funny. Mariana is right behind Jesus, she is a lot more stand offish "Hi, i'm Mariana" I smile in reply "You look so much like Callie, this is weird" I look up to Callie then back to Mariana "Yeah i guess it is a bit weird" "Hmm yeah so weird. If you ah.. If you want help covering up those later I have heaps of make-up. It's kind of my thing" I lift my hand up and place my hand on my cheek, I almost forgot about the bruises that cover my face "_Mariana_" Stef addresses her sternly "Well it is and i'm just trying to help. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm going to go have a shower considering I probably won't get one in the morning" she makes her way out of the room. The only people now left in the room is Stef, Callie, Brandon, Jude and myself, I have noticed that neither Brandon nor Jude has made any attempt to come and talk to me. This is getting more awkward by the second, I almost just want to avoid the situation all together and leave the room myself, I thought Jude might have been excited to see me like Callie was but he is hardly even looking at me. Stef and Callie have obviously noticed the tension in the room too as they both make their way over to the two boys, Stef goes over to Brandon "You okay B?" "Yeah fine" He looks over to me now "Hi, I'm Brandon" "Hi" I reply, for some reason I feel like he doesn't even want to be in the same room as me, from what Callie told me she said Brandon would have been the one who would welcome me with open arms but this is the complete opposite. Brandon talks again "It's uhh... It's nice to meet you" He looks to Stef "I have lots of homework to do so i'm just going to go up to my room" "Okay love, i'll call you down a bit later for dinner yeah?" "Hmm yeah" he replies before he makes a quick exit out of the room. I look to Jude, who Callie has been whispering to for the past minute, I haven't heard any of what she was saying but I know it must be about me. I feel like Jude isn't going to say anything so I decide to talk to him instead "Umm hi Judi" he looks up to me now, finally making some eye contact "You use to always call me that" He doesn't smile but at least he is acknowledging that I am here "Yeah, I remember you getting angry because you said Judi was a girls name" I laugh at the memory. It's now that Jude lets out a slight grin but it doesn't last long "I'm so sorry you were in the system Charlie, We didn't.. I didn't know you were. I'm sorry you had to go through that" Oh i guess it makes sense now, does he feel guilty? is that why he wouldn't look at me but it wasn't his fault, it was no ones fault really "it's okay" he has come closer to me now and after a beat he wraps his arms around me, he is tall now so my head in just under his chin "no it's not okay, you should have never been alone but i'm glad you're here with us now. This is the best family ever and they will keep you safe just like me and Callie" I wish I believed that but I don't know if I will be staying here for that long. Jude still hasn't let go of me and after a minute I feel Callie's arms wrap around both Jude and I. This feels like a dream, never in a million years did I think I would be standing here, in this beautiful home getting hugged by my brother and sister, warmth instantly fills my heart; I haven't felt anything like this in a long time.

**Finally the full family reunion. How do you feel about Jude's reaction? I struggled figuring out how I think he may have reacted in this situation. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate getting feedback so please keep giving it. **

**Stef POV**

Quietly I walk myself out of the living room, leaving Callie, Jude and Charlie alone to hopefully reconnect. I make my way into the kitchen where Lena is pouring herself a glass of water she looks over to me as I take a seat at the table "So big day huh?" I rub my temple as I nod in reply. Lena walks over to me and places a soft kiss on my hair before she takes a seat next to me, I know I need to fill Lena in about the events of today but at this moment all I feel like doing is resting, I guess not having much sleep last night is finally starting to catch up with me. I place my head in my arms and let out a sigh, I can feel Lena run her fingers along my back, this gesture always helps me to relax "So who's going to go up and speak to B?" Lena suddenly says, she must have noticed how distant he was this afternoon too. I took up into Lenas eyes "He didn't take the news of Charlie too well did he?" Lena replies with a shake of her head "He didn't really say anything in the car when I told the kids, he wouldn't even look at me Stef" I close my eyes, my sweet Brandon, he has gone from an only child to being the eldest of a big family, I guess we have been lucky that he has let the other kids enter his family with open arms but maybe this time is just too much. I open my eyes again to look at the love of my life, this woman will get me through anything that life throws at me "i'll head up and talk to him soon, the others seemed to handle the news okay. I mean Mariana was... well she was Mariana and I wouldn't expect any different" Lena smiles at my comment "Hmm she really is one of a kind our Mari but she means well" "She does" I reply.

While the kids are all busy now is probably the best time to have a chat about what is going to happen over the next few days "So I have talked to Charlies social worker, his name is Tim" "ehm" Lena replies with a nod, I continue "He wasn't very keen on the idea of Charlie staying with us tonight but I managed to sway him. I have signed and sent all the paperwork through so it's all offical for the next two nights. I have also organised a meeting with Tim in two days from now at lunchtime" Lena nods again "I will organise a longer lunch to make sure I will be here too" I smile at Lena "Thanks love" "So whats going to happen over the next two nights?" Lena asks, "Well I have talked to Charlie and she is okay to sleep on the couch, I will make it up for her after dinner. Callie wanted to give up her bed but Charlie was quick to refuse the offer" "What about Charlies injuries? She definitely looks much more worse for wear than when I saw her yesterday at the school" Lena says with worry written on her face "I haven't had the opportunity to see what other injuries she has, I know she has something going on as she has repeatedly flinched throughout the day. I did try to ask her but she insists that she is fine and avoids the subject any further" Lena nods "Maybe I can have a talk with her later? she might open up a bit more to me? Or we can ask Callie to have a talk with her" "We can see how she is after dinner and go from there. I will offer her some aspirin and hopefully that will help with the pain for now". Our conversation is interrupted by Jesus bounding into the kitchen "How long till dinner?" He says whilst taking a look in the fridge, Lena replies "Not for a few hours, how about you have a piece of fruit?" "Humph boring" Jesus grabs an apple and sits down in front of me, "So are you guys going to adopt Charlie too or..?" I'm quick to answer Jesus' very forward question "We haven't discussed anything about that yet Jesus, Charlie has only just come into our home a few hours ago and we have a lot to think about" I look to Lena "_But_ how would you feel if Charlie did end up staying?" I already know what he is probably going to say but I will be asking each of the kids this eventually "That'd be cool with me. I mean now that the garage is a room I could just move in there" Jesus says as a statement, I raise my eyebrows of course this is his solution, he has been wanting to move in ever since we did the garage up last summer "Oh really now" "Yeah well Brandon said he doesn't care about moving out there and I know Mari said she wants to but I don't think she _actually_ wants to, she likes being in with Callie too much to actually move and well Jude is too young soo.. that leaves me!" I can't help the laugh that escapes my lips "Well sounds like you have it all figured out then" "yep!" Jesus replies with a smile before he takes a bite from his apple. I look to Lena who is also smiling at our determined son. I stand up "I'm going to go up and talk to B, you okay down here?" I turn to Lena who replies with a nod "I'll get start preparing dinner soon since this one probably won't be able to wait for long" she is looking at Jesus who gives a shrug. I leave the kitchen and head up the stairs, i'm not looking forward to what this conversation might bring.

I knock on Brandons closed door, "Hey B, it's Mom" "Come in" Brandon replies. I slowly open up the door and walk inside closing the door behind me. I walk over to Brandon who is lying on his bed scrolling on his phone, He sits up a bit and moves his legs to the side leaving me room to sit down in front of him. I sit down and rest my hand on his shin "I thought you were doing homework?" I say with a smile "I was going to start soon" Brandon replies without looking at me, this conversation is going just how I thought it would go. I give his leg a small squeeze "Whats going through your head B? I know today would have come as a shock" "yeah it was _definitely_ a shock" Brandon still hasn't taken his eyes off from his phone "Can you put your phone down for me please" Brandon sighs and places his phone next to him "What's up?" finally he is properly acknowledging me being here even if it's with a bit of attitude "I want to know what's going through your head. You haven't told us how you are actually feeling about what has happened today and remember I am your mother and I know you better than anyone else in this world so you are not going to get away with telling me you are okay with it" Brandon rolls his eyes before he finally starts to talk "Well.. well I wish I was okay with it. I feel like a horrible person because I don't feel okay. I feel like this family just keeps growing and don't get me wrong I love, I _love_ my siblings but another one Mom? You and Mama don't even have enough time to spend with five kids let alone adding another into the bunch" My heart instantly pings, he is right. I consistently feel like I need to be in five different places at once and is Brandon right, maybe I don't have enough left in me to support another child. Brandon is looking at me now, waiting for me to reply but what do I say "I.. I know I have missed a few of your recitals over the past few months and you have had to also accept that AJ is at your Dads house. You have had a lot going on so i'm sorry I sprung this on you so suddenly but you have to understand that Charlie didn't have anywhere to go.." Brandon interrupts "I know you have been busy and sure it sucks that you haven't made it to all my recitals but i'm not overly bothered about that, I always have someone there, whether it's Dad, Lena or you but it's the fact that our house is literally turning into the Brady Bunch" Brandon stands up "It's already so busy, I have trouble keeping up with my schoolwork because there is always something going on, some type of drama or fight. I haven't even had the chance to talk to Mama properly about my senior project because she has been too busy dealing with everyone else. How am I meant to get through my final year of school if this is going to be what it's like every single day?! But don't get me wrong I know why you brought Charlie here, I know she can't be living on the streets or in an abusive foster home, I wouldn't want that for anyone but surely there is a nice place where she could live that is close by. Somewhere she can stay but can still visit here and be a part of our lives.. just without living here" he looks down almost like he feels guilty about what he has just said. I instantly feel regret, has Brandon been feeling like this for a while and I just haven't noticed, is this the last straw that has officially made Brandon break. I feel like a terrible Mom, I stand up and wrap my son up in my arms "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry you feel like this. I'm sorry I haven't been as present as I should have been but I promise that will change, even with Charlie here I promise you I'm going to be more present in your life and I'll talk to Mama too. The two of you can come up with a plan to sort out your senior project. Maybe you can go to the library together on Saturday? Just the two of you" Brandon nods his head "Thanks Mom and I don't blame you, I don't want you to feel bad. It's just I miss you and I know I sound selfish but I miss having you to myself". I love my family with all my heart but it's true, I have not spent enough quality time with my eldest and that needs to change "let's do something soon, just the two of us. We can plan a Mom and Brandon day. How does that sound?" "That would be good Mom" We have another hug "As for the Charlie situation, we haven't made any decisions yet and I'll talk to Mama about what you have just told me okay? Your opinion is always relevant, all you kids will have a proper say on what happens in this family" Brandon replies with a sad nod, I know he is definitely feeling guilty about the way he is feeling "never feel guilty about how you feel my love, I'm glad you told me the truth" I kiss his cheek "and remember I will drop everything to be there for you if you need a chat you hear me" Brandon nods again "Okay well I'll leave you to your homework. I'm going to go down and help Mama with dinner your brother is apparently starving. I'll call you when it's ready" "Okay" Brandon gives me a smile. I give his hand one final squeeze of reassurance before I make my way to the door, closing it behind me I place my hand back up to my temples, trying to prevent the headache that is slowly making its way to the surface. It's been a long 24 hours and I feel like it isn't going to get any easier.


	13. Chapter 13

**Charlie POV**

It has been just over an hour since everyone got home, I managed to have some time with just Callie and Jude which was incredible, I am still in shock about the fact that I am finally back with _my_ family, my _real_ family. This is something I have wished for everyday since I entered the foster system and it's hard to believe that it has actually come true. My time with Callie and Jude consisted mostly of talking about the two of them, Jude told me all about his school and his friends, he seems so happy, I don't think I have smiled that much in a very long time. From the way the two of them talked I could tell how happy they both are here and it's obvious how loved Callie and Jude are in this house, the way Stef and Lena look at them is with pure love, they have definitely found their perfect forever family. I am so happy for them but I can't shake the feeling of jealously that has been sitting in the bottom of my stomach, I want this, I want this love, I want this family.

I look around the dinner table, I am placed between Callie and Jude, with the rest of the Foster family sitting around the other sides of table. Everyone is taking turns dishing up food onto their plates, there are three big bowls placed in the middle of the table, one filled with spaghetti pasta, one with meatballs and one with a fresh salad. It looks absolutely delicious but I can't bring myself to dish myself some food onto my plate, this is so foreign to me and the fact that I am even allowed to be sitting up here at the table with the family seems unreal. I must clearly look awkward because Stef looks over to me "Help yourself to as much as you want love" "A..ah yeah okay, I will. thanks" I give Stef a small smile. Most of the family has dished up their food now so I put a little bit of each food on my plate, after my experience with lunch I already know i'm not going to be able to eat much and I don't want to waste any food. After a small moment of silence the family erupts in conversation, talking about their day, homework and what they want to get up to on the weekend. I don't include myself in the conversation, rather I silently eat the food on my plate as I listen to the many voices talking around me. Although I feel out of place here it does feel nice to be surrounded by a family who is so strong and who clearly love one another more then anything else in this world.

After dinner the evening seemed to move fast, everyone went their separate ways almost instantly. Jesus and Jude helped Lena with the dishes while Brandon and Mariana went back up stairs, Brandon still didn't really interact with me during the family dinner but it doesn't faze me too much, I am use to being ignored. Stef went off to get the couch ready for me to sleep on and Callie showed me to the shower where she also offered me a pair of her pyjamas to put on afterwards. I am now standing in front of the mirror in the upstairs bathroom, it feels good to be clean and if I look past my battered body I guess you could say that I am beginning to look like a normal teenager again. I let out a yawn as tiredness begins to overcome me, I am actually looking forward to sleeping tonight, I am finally going to be able to sleep without one eye open. I throw on Callie's pyjama top, flinching at the movement, the pain has decreased a little bit now that I have had some painkillers. Stef offered me some before my shower, I didn't want to admit that I was in pain but she seems to be able to read me like a book so I decided to take the pills and thank her rather than having to lie about my pain. At least this way I can save the ones in my duffel bag incase I need them in the future. During the interaction Stef acted like she wanted to talk to me about my bruises but I was quick to change the subject again, I know I should probably ask for some help but I really don't want to be a burden, I just want to be in the background so the Foster family can continue with their regular lives. This idea seems to be failing miserably though because Stef told me her and Jude have taken the day off work and school tomorrow to be here with me, I tried to tell her that wasn't necessary but she insisted and I didn't want to make a big fuss. I take my eyes off from my reflection in the mirror and head to the door, as I walk out I almost run straight into Brandon "Oh sorry, I'm sorry I took ages. Sorry" Brandon looks me in the eyes, the first time he has done this since we met, he shrugs "It's okay kid" he shows a glimmer of a smile before he walks past me and shuts the door behind him, well I guess that's progress.

I walk my way down the stairs towards the living room, it's now dark outside and most of the family seem to already be in their bedrooms, Lena said goodnight to me before my shower and Stef, Callie and Jude said they would wait up until I was settled before they went to bed. I walk into the living room and I see that the couch is now made up with pillows and a big blanket, it actually looks surprisingly cosy, Stef and Jude are cuddling on the armchair as they watch something on the TV and I can here bustling happening in the kitchen which i'm guessing is Callie. Stef looks towards me "You feel better after your shower sweets?" "Yes, thank you" she nods back to me "What about those painkillers? Have they helped?" I nod in return. Callie walks into the room at this moment, she is carrying a glass of water, a wheat bag and some more painkillers "I have a few supplies for your night, the wheat bag is nice and warm so if you have any pain this will hopefully help and here's some painkillers for you to take in the morning" She places the items on the coffee table before she comes over to me and wraps me in another hug "If you need anything we will just be up there, you can wake me up at any time. okay?" Stef chimes in at this point "And the same goes for Lena and I, if you need anything, anything at all you can just knock on our bedroom door" she says with a smile. I reply with a nod although I know I would never _ever_ wake anybody up intentionally, not even if I was dying. Stef taps Jude on the knee before she grabs the remote to turn the TV off "Right well i'm going to call it a night" she stands up and heads towards the stairs "Night my loves don't stay up too late. Callie remember you have school tomorrow and we all know what you are like when you haven't had a decent sleep" Callie rolls her eyes "Jude and I will be up in a minute" "Sounds good bug". Before Stef leaves the room she looks in my direction "Remember, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask, see you in the morning" she says before she starts her ascend up the stairs. Jude stands up and joins the hug Callie and I are sharing "I'm so glad you're here" he says, "Me too" I reply with yet another smile on my face, even if this is only temporary i'm glad I have experienced this day, it proves that I did the right thing to never lose that tiny glimmer of hope I have held on to over all these years. Callie is the first to pull herself from the hug "Me and Jude are going to head up to bed now, are you sure you're okay down here?" "Yeah I will be fine" "I hope this is okay" Callie says as she looks at the couch "When I first came here I slept on the couch for a few nights and it wasn't too bad" "No.. no it's perfect. Thank you" Callie replies to me with a nod "Okay well have a good sleep and we will see you tomorrow morning?" she says this as a question, almost like she isn't sure if I will still be here tomorrow "Yeah, see you tomorrow" I smile at both Callie and Jude, we have another three way hug before Callie and Jude make their way up to their bedrooms. I turn off the lights and climb under the covers, it's a lot comfier then where I slept last night thats for sure. I lay there thinking about Callies last question, I guess I am technically a runaway now so she is probably worried I'll run from here. I hadn't thought about running until Callie questioned it but the thought of being a burden makes running feel like a plausible option but not for tonight, tonight I want to feel safe, tonight I want to stay. I close my eyes and a deep sleep soon overcomes me.

**Stef POV**

Morning arrives and I wake up with a stretch, my body and mind feel much more alive today, I only woke up two times throughout the night. Both times I did the rounds and checked on all the kids, my protective Mom instincts couldn't not check after the crazy day we had yesterday. Surprisingly all the kids were asleep on each check, even Charlie who didn't look like she had moved an inch all night, I'm glad she got some sleep, she looked exhausted yesterday. I climb out of bed, I am taking another day off work today so I want to get some work done before the rest of the family wake up, I have a few urgent reports to fill out which I know the chief would be disappointed if they are not finished by lunchtime. I get changed and make my way down the stairs, keeping quiet as to not disturb the rest of the house.

I'm surprised to find Charlies bedding stacked up in a tidy pile as I walk past the living room, it's five in the morning, a time that most teenagers wouldn't ever be out of bed by. My heart instantly begins to race, did she leave? did she run? I walk further into the living area where I see her blue duffel bag is still stilling next to the couch. Phew, she must be around here somewhere. I hear the fridge open from the kitchen and make my way there, when I enter the room I see Charlie about to pour herself a glass of cold water "Good morning" Charlie jumps the second she hears the sound of my voice, she drops the glass to the floor where it shatters sending glass shards all around her feet. She instantly gets a panicked look across her face and bends down to pick up the pieces of glass "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" she mumbles, I run over to her "_I'm _sorry I frightened you, I should have given you a bit more warning that I was in the room" I look to Charlie now who has a tear drop running down her cheek. I pull my hand up and wipe her tear away "Hey, it's okay. It was just an accident and we have lots of other glasses. How about you go and find another one and I can pick this up" She looks up towards me the panic is still very much present in her eyes "Wha.. what if I woke somebody up?" "Trust me, those kids can sleep through anything, you could probably start playing the drums and they would still stay sleeping" Charlie gives me a smirk before she talks again "What about Lena?" I get the feeling that Charlie is less scared about the actual glass breaking and more about her waking up somebody with the noise, it breaks my heart knowing that something bad must have happened to make her feel like this. I quickly reassure her that she is okay here "Lena usually gets up soon anyway and even if you did wake her she wouldn't be angry" I give Charlies hand a squeeze, it surprises me when she ever so slightly squeezes my hand in return.

A short time later I have the glass all cleaned up and Charlie and I are sitting opposite each other at the table, she hasn't taken her eyes off from her fresh glass of water since the incident and I can sense she is still feeling worried about it all. I try to start up a conversation to push her worried thoughts aside "How did you sleep sweets?" she doesn't take her eyes off from her glass as she answers "It was fine, thanks" "That's good and how are you feeling today? Are you still in any pain?" I had noticed that the painkillers Callie had put out last night were sitting on the kitchen bench so I am presuming that was the reason Charlie had been pouring herself a glass of water in the first place. Charlie looks up in the direction of those said painkillers before she looks back to her glass "Umm i'm fine" she is determined to cover up those injuries but what she doesn't know about me is I am just as determined, I have made it a mission of mine to make sure she is actually okay. I'm not going to push too hard but i'm also not going to push it completely to the side like I did yesterday. After all Charlie is in the care of Lena and I now which means it's our job to make sure her wellbeing is being protected. I stand up and grab the painkillers before sitting back down in front of Charlie "Are you sure? because I have a feeling you were about to take some of these when I first walked in. Which means you are not just fine" Charlie looks up, shifting her gaze between myself and the painkillers in my hand. She takes a moment before she talks again "I guess it is still a bit sore" not as much information as i would like but at least she is telling me some of the truth, I remove two pills from the packet before placing them in front of Charlie, she is quick to pick them up and gulp them down with her water. This quick gesture proving to me just how much pain this girl is in, she was almost diving for those painkillers as soon as I placed them down. I know Charlie has just met me and she probably has no trust in me but I'm going to try my luck "Charlie, I know you don't know me, so you have no reason to trust me yet but I know you have some more injuries from the incident that happened in your previous home" Charlie is looking down but I can tell she is listening to me so I continue "I want you to know that you are truely safe in this home and we are not going to hurt you or make you do anything you don't want to do, okay?" she gives a small nod. I move my hand across the table and place it over hers, she flinches at first but she doesn't pull away so I leave it there "I really think you should have someone look at your stomach, whether it is myself or Lena or even a doctor if you don't feel comfortable with either of us..." I pause before I say my next statement "I just.. I would never forgive myself if something was seriously wrong and I did nothing to help you". I know i'm playing the guilt card but if she is anything like her sister then I know she will react to the fact she might be making someone else unhappy by not getting help for herself. Just as I thought within a few seconds she looks up to me with more tears in her eyes, she opens her mouth to talk but shuts it again, I can see her mind processing as she is deciding what she wants to do. Through this I feel my confidence rising, she might _actually_ talk but that quick thought is shutdown when Charlie speaks again "I'm fine" the two words ring through my ears, _I'm fine, I'm fine, _she is not bloody fine, she is not even close to being fine. I want to tell her she _needs_ to get checked, I want to tell her she cannot have anymore painkillers until she lets someone look at her stomach but I am not her mother and I have no right to insist that she is _not_ _in fact_ fine so as much as it pains me I once again let it slide "Okay but please take into account what I said. I truly mean it, If you change your mind about letting us help you then please don't be afraid to ask" Charlie nods again before she separates her hand from mine "Can I go sit outside?" "Of course" she stands up from her seat and walks out the back door. I let out a sigh as I stand up to make my way to the coffee machine, looking out the back window I see the silhouette of Charlie in the still dark morning, my heart breaks as I watch her head fall into her arms and her shoulders begin to shake. I just want to run outside and throw this girl into my arms and tell her everything is going to be okay but how can I do that when I don't know if that is the truth.

The next thirty minutes go by fast, within that time I manage to finish one report between constantly checking on Charlie in the backyard. She seemed to stop crying after about ten minutes and now she is just siting out there staring into space. Lena came down about ten minutes ago, she is already showered and ready to start her day. I replayed the events of this morning to her in which she luckily slept through, she is currently staring out of the window at Charlie with worry written on her face "Maybe I should go out and see if she is okay?" she says "Charlie needs space my love, this morning would have been overwhelming for her and we don't want to push her away. Once everyone has left for school I will try talk to her again and I promise I will keep you updated" she finally walks away from the window "It's just so hard to see a child like this. It's like going through Callie and Jude all over again" I hold Lenas hand just as I had held Charlies earlier "I know love, I know how much you want to help her. I want that too and we will, we just have to give her time". Lena nods "I will keep my phone close incase you need to call for anything".

The rest of the morning ran smoothly, the kids slowly got up from bed and had their breakfast. Callie spent some time with Charlie outside before she made her way in to eat, she said that Charlie wasn't hungry and seemed happy to stay outside. At eight everyone grabbed their bags and left to make the journey to school. Jude made his way down at about eight thirty, he served up two bowls of breakfast one for himself and one for Charlie, he took them both outside where they sat together for another thirty minutes. During this time I finished most of the work I wanted to complete, so I decided to pack my computer away and start to clean up the carnage that breakfast created. Just as I am finishing up Jude and Charlie make their way into the house, Jude places their bowls into the sink, he looks at me then diverts his gaze back to Charlie "It's okay" he says, Charlie looks down at her feet as she begins to talk "I.. uhh... I think I want your help" I'm taken aback, I didn't expect Charlie to come to me for help this soon, especially after the failed attempt this morning but there is no way I am letting this request slide. I stop cleaning straight away and walk closer to Charlie "Of course love, how do you want me to help?" "I..um...my.. um..I think my stomach is bad, it..it hasn't been this bad before and it's getting..it's getting worse. Can.. Can you.. maybe.. look at it?" Charlie stumbles through her words, she sounds almost terrified to ask me for help, I guess she hasn't asked for help from anyone in years. I grab her hand "Yes, yes of course. Why don't we head into the living room and I can have a look there?" "Yeah okay...thanks" she says, she makes her way into the living room leaving just Jude and I in the kitchen "How did you manage to get her to ask for help?" I whisper to Jude, he replies with a shrug "I didn't really say much, she keep saying that she wasn't hungry and I asked why, she said her stomach was really sore so I just said that maybe there was something wrong and she kind of decided herself that she wanted to ask you for help" he shrugs again before he follows Charlie into the living room. I brace myself for what I might end up seeing before I too make my way towards the living area.

**Charlie POV**

I'm sitting on the couch waiting for Stef and Jude to follow me into the living room, I can't believe I asked for help, it's so unlike me to ask for anything but the look on Stefs face when I told her I was fine completely messed with me. She looked so disappointed, I couldn't handle being around her any longer so I had to take myself outside. She knew I was lying and I told myself I wouldn't lie anymore. Over the course of the morning I ran over the different scenario's in my head, I kept swaying from asking for help and not and eventually I decided I would ask. My stomach is not even close to getting better and the pain has almost doubled since yesterday morning so the pros of asking for help definitely overrode the cons. Jude walks in first and sits beside me and Stef makes her way in soon after. She sits on the coffee table in front of me "You ready?" she asks me, my heart is racing but I know I can't change my mind now so I nod before I start to lift my t-shirt up to reveal my stomach. I already know it's bad but the look on Stefs face when she first sees my stomach makes me believe that it might be even worse then I think. She moves closer "Oh my god Charlie, How could anyone do this to you" I shrug "It's just what happens in the system" "Well it shouldn't be happening. Do you mind if I touch your stomach love?" I shrug again "Uh yeah it's okay" Stef moves her hand over my stomach and gently presses down, oh my god the pain shoots up my entire body and I can't help the grunt the escapes my lips. Stef looks at me worried "I think we should take you to the hospital love, this really doesn't look good and you could have some internal injuries" I don't want to go to the hospital, I hate hosptials, that's where I was left, that's where my nightmare began. I shake my head "No..no I can't go there" Stef continues to insist "I can be there the whole time if you want me too, I just really believe a doctor needs to check you over. I promise you I won't let anything bad happen" I look into Stefs eyes and I truly do believe she is telling me the truth, I then look to Jude who gives me a nod "Okay, okay. I'll go." Hopefully I am making the right decision.

**Please keep reviewing, I love the feedback. **


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm not a doctor so I apologise if information is incorrect in this chapter.**

**PS: I don't know why but my chapter formats seem to be getting mucked up in the app (Random spaces, italics etc) Not sure how to fix it sorry! **

**Charlie POV**

The houses and trees are moving swiftly past the window of the car, I am sitting in the passenger seat with Jude in the back and Stef driving. We are on our way to the local hospital, my heart is racing a mile a minute, I let out a breath that I only just realised I have been holding in. In some ways I am glad I said yes to seeing a doctor, at least this way I can get some proper medication to help with the pain but I am still absolutely dreading having to walk into another hospital. I honestly do believe Stef when she says she is going to stay with me the whole time but I still can't shake the anxiety that is currently flooding through my mind. I _hate_ hospitals.

We pull into the car park and Stef finds a park that is as close as possible to the entrance. Jude is the first who jumps out, he quickly makes his way over to my door and helps me climb out of the car. Stef walks over to us "Alright, you ready love?" I give Stef a nod before we make our way to the entrance doors. It's pretty quiet in the reception area, only a couple of other people are sitting down waiting to be seen, Stef tells me and Jude to take a seat before she walks over to talk to the woman behind the desk. Jude sits down to my left "How are you feeling now?" He asks me "I'm okay, it's not too bad at the moment" I reply. Stef makes her way back over to us with a clipboard in her hand "Someone should be free to see us soon" she tells me with a smile "Okay" I say. Stef takes the seat on my right "We just need to fill out these forms before we are seen, it's just all your basic information and a bit about your medical history" I stare at the clipboard in Stefs hand, shit I didn't think about having to write about my medical history, I know I have already told Callie but I wasn't ready for everyone else to find out and pity me. Stef hands me the clipboard and I start to fill in the form, it's easy at first but I have to ask Stef about her address and phone number. The next set of questions is now about my medical history, I read over the questions a few times before I decide to circle _no _under the question D_o you have any existing medical conditions?. _I mean I am better now so what does it matter if they know about my heart or not and I'd rather not talk about it again. I hand the form back to Stef in which she takes it up to reception.

The next twenty minutes move fast, Stef has been reading woman's magazines next to me and Jude has been talking to me about his favourite video game _Vainglory. _Our conversation is interrupted by a womans voice "Miss Charlotte Jacobs" I look up to see a woman, maybe in her late thirties, she is tall with curly blonde hair, Stef stands up straight away and I follow suit. We walk over to the woman who instantly greets us "Hi, I'm Dr Smith but you can call me Tori and you must be Charlotte" she looks towards me and I nod my head, I am glad I have a female doctor, it makes me feel a little bit more comfortable being here. Stef introduces herself and Jude to Tori, she shakes all our hands before we follow her to the exam room. Dr Smiths exam room is small, it has a desk, a few chairs and an exam table. Tori asks me to sit down on the exam table which I do with a wince, that hurt more then I thought it would. After I sit down Tori begins to talk "I'm sorry it took a while I was looking through your medical file and there was a fair bit to look through before I brought you in here" I gulp, I didn't expect them to have my records but I guess I don't know much about how the medical world works. I look over to Stef and Jude who are standing near the end of the exam table, they are looking worriedly at both the doctor and me. Responding to Tori I nod my head "I called your specialist to have a talk as well" she continues trying to connect her eyes with mine but I try my best to avoid them "after I have done your exam I'd like to talk to you about it, if that is okay?" Dammit, this is not going the way I wanted it too, I want to say no but I don't think that is an option so I just nod my head. Stef now looks like she wants to burst, I know she must have a thousand questions but I'm glad she seems to be keeping quiet at the moment. Tori instructs me to lie on my back which I do with a struggle "Now I hear you might have an injury on your abdomen" I nod my head again, I realise I haven't said a word since I met this doctor but she doesn't seem very bothered by my not talking. She asks me to lift up my shirt which I do anxiously "that's great Charlotte, now if it is okay with you I am just going to press down slightly on a few areas of your stomach?" She asks me, once again I nod my head. She starts off at the bottom of my stomach which doesn't hurt too much but as she moves up the pain worsens, it's when she presses just under my chest that a slight scream escapes my lips, my vision starts to get blurry and I try to push her hands away. I look up to Tori who has a crease in her eyebrows "I'm sorry that must have hurt Charlotte, you definitely have a few large hematomas and I am suspecting three broken ribs but I can't be certain until we get an X-ray done. I don't believe there is any internal bleeding or serious damage" Tori says as she looks between Stef and I "but it might take a little while before you feel your body being fully functional again" I nod "Now I'm going to prescribe you something for the pain and also a mild anti inflammatory to help reduce the bruising and swelling. I will also organise for you to get an X-ray completed this afternoon just to have a closer look at those ribs and make sure I haven't missed any other damage. Now if you want to hop down off the exam table and take a seat down by my desk we can talk a bit more about my conversation with your specialist". As I move my body off the table I can begin to feel my heart racing again, what is Tori going to say? what do I say? I know I was supposed to go for regular visits once I came off the medication to make sure everything was okay, visits in which I haven't been to in years. I take the seat closest to Tori's, Stef sits on the chair next to me and Jude leans up against the wall where I can just see him in the corner of my vision, there are not enough chairs in this place. Tori opens up a document on her computer "Okay so before I fill in your prescriptions let's have a chat" she turns her chair so it's facing me "How are you generally feeling? other then your obvious injuries" great now I actually need to talk "Umm fine" I say "So since your last appointment which was.." she looks through her notes "a few years ago now, when you first came off your medications which were.." she does some scrolling "Acebutolol, Dyrenium and Amlodipine" damn they actually know everything, it's now that Stef finally seems to burst at the seams "Why was Charlie on these drugs and why does she have a specialist?!" Stef says looking between Tori and I, I link eyes with Stef for a second before I look down "I'm sorry, I thought you would have known about Charlottes medical history" "I haven't received her file yet, I will be getting it tomorrow" Stef says, I can still feel her eyes on me as well as Judes. Tori shuffles in her seat a bit "Charlotte do you mind having Stef and Jude in here for this conversation?" I think about it for a second "It's fine" I say, I mean they are going to find out tomorrow when they read my file anyway "Okay, Do you want to tell them about your condition or is it okay for me to give Stef a quick debrief from what I have on your file?" "_You_ can" I say, still not looking at Jude or Stef, I know Jude is probably going to take this conversation hard like Callie did. Stef moves forward in her seat as Tori starts to tell her my medical history, "Charlotte has a condition called Bicuspid aortic valve disease. She started to develop symptoms when she was five which ended up resulting in three open heart surgeries over the course of a year. The reason for so many surgeries was due to other smaller complications arising, all of which were fixed after the final surgery" I am still avoiding all eye contact and looking down at my hands whilst fidgeting with my fingers, suddenly Stefs hand embraces mine and she gives it a squeeze. I instantly feel a sense of comfort, a sense of belonging, I look up into Stefs eyes and what I see surprises me, I don't see pity but rather reassurance, she then gives me a smile which only solidifies that reassurance. Tori continues to scroll through my details "Now it says here you came off your medication three years ago and that was the last time you were seen by anyone, is that correct?" "Umm yeah" "Under your notes it says you were supposed to been seen once a month for the first year and then six monthly after that if everything was going smoothly" I look down again, I knew this would come up "I called Dr Travey, your initial specialist and he was very surprised to hear you were here today. Talking with him he would like to see you as soon as possible, due to you not having been to any of your appointments he said it is in your best interests to see him for some thorough tests to make sure your heart is still doing it's job correctly" Stef is the one to talk now "How soon does Charlie need to see Dr Travey?" "He said he can squeeze Charlotte in for an appointment Monday morning at 9am" Stef looks at me "I think it's really important for you to go love, is it okay if I take you?" the only reason why I never made it to any of my past appointments was due to my foster parents either not having time to take me or generally not being bothered so it's a shock to hear Stef asking to take me "Umm sure" I say "Great, we will be there Monday 9am". It suddenly dawns on me that I might not even be with the Fosters on Monday, that's four days away, why is Stef making this commitment when she doesn't even know where i'll be. I let go of Stefs hand and pretend to scratch my nose, I need to stop accepting this comfort, it might not be here for much longer.

The rest of the appointment involves Tori filling out my prescriptions, giving details for the X-ray and my appointment details for Monday. Stef thanks Tori and we make our way back to the car. The rest of the afternoon consists of going to get an X-ray which confirms that I have three broken ribs but that's all thankfully. Stef ran into the local pharmacy where she picked up my prescriptions and we stopped at a drive through to get burgers for lunch, Jude said to not tell Lena because she doesn't like the family eating fast food, I smiled at this but I wasn't really in the mood for talking so that's the only reply I could muster up. After we ate our burgers in the car and disposed of our evidence we headed back to the house.

Walking in the door I suddenly realise how tired I am, today was a busy day. I am sitting on the living room couch with Jude on the armchair near me, the TV is playing a movie but i'm not really paying attention, my eyes are suddenly feeling so heavy. Stef walks into the room and hands me some of the pills prescribed to me today, I take the pills and down a half glass of water before I curl up under the blanket I used last night, my eyes start to glaze over and a few minutes later I am fast asleep.

**Stef POV**

I just got off the phone to Lena, I filled her in about the events of today, she threw me so many questions most of which I didn't have an answer. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was as surprised and worried as I am. What a crazy day, I did not expect to find out Charlie had a heart condition. Having a medical condition is one thing but thinking about Charlie having to go through all of that whilst being in foster care absolutely breaks my heart. Charlie hasn't talked about what happened at the doctors office and i'm not going to push her, poor girl fell asleep within twenty minutes of getting inside the house, she must have been exhausted.

Jude walks into the kitchen and breaks me out of my internal thoughts "Hey Bud, you okay?" Jude takes a seat at the table and shrugs his shoulders "Yeah.. I guess" "What's on your mind?" "Hmm.. I just, It didn't even cross my mind that we would find out that Charlie had been sick when she was younger. I remember her being perfectly fine before she was taken away" he looks sad and confused, I walk over and give him a hug "The doctor said her symptoms started later on love, so there was no way for you, Callie, your mom or dad to know she had a problem" "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish she had someone with her when it all happened she must have been so scared" I give him another squeeze "Well she has us now, that's better then nothing" I say giving Jude a big smile in which he smiles back in reply "How is she anyway? Still asleep?" "Yeah, still asleep. She hasn't moved an itch" "How about you get some homework done now, then you will be free to do whatever you like this afternoon huh?" Jude hops off his chair "Yeah okay. I'll bring it down here" "Sounds good bud". Hopefully with Jude busy doing homework and Charlie asleep I will have some quiet time to think about what I want to do about this whole situation, obviously Lena and I will have a talk about it this afternoon but I am still so confused about what to do. I want Charlie to stay, I want to be able to support her but I don't know if it's even possible and I need to think about what Brandon told me last night too. All I know is that I need to decide by lunchtime tomorrow before our meeting with Tim.


	15. Chapter 15

**So we are now on a strict four week lockdown here in New Zealand, not allowed to leave our properties unless for essentials. Hope everyone is keeping safe around the world and staying home if that is what is required of you right now. **

**Charlie POV**

We have around thirty minutes until Tim is due to arrive for our meeting, the last few days have flown by and I have actually really enjoyed being here with the Fosters. Everyone has been really nice, even Mariana who has started to include me in her day to day life, she even offered to do my hair this morning for my meeting. I was a little bit anxious about this offer at first but I said yes in the end, my hair is now in two French braids. Brandon has still kept his distance but he will say hi or give me a smile if we pass each other in the house. Another positive is my pain is finally getting better, my medication seems to be working but I still struggle with big movements such as sitting and standing. Stef is taking really good care of me though, as much as I have tried to push her away she always seems to be at the ready when it's time to take more medicine. It's hard to not enjoy being cared for but I have a feeling this won't last for long. I overheard Stef and Lena talking to the family last night in the kitchen, I had just woken up from my sleep so they didn't know I was listening. I only heard bits but I know Brandon isn't too keen on the idea of me staying and Mariana said if I had nowhere safe to go then she knows the best place for me to be is here but she also said that if they could find a safe place for me then maybe it would be better if I went there. As much as it hurt to hear that I know that me being here has made the house very busy and cramped. After constantly running through what was said about me I almost ran away last night but at the last second I decided that for now I should stay, at least until I am feeling better and until I know for certain what is going to happen after this meeting.

This morning was the same as yesterday, everyone got ready for school, had breakfast and then left with Lena. With me staying at the house with just Stef today, Callie and Jude both tried to convince Stef and Lena to let them stay for my meeting but they insisted that it was too many people and that I would be here when they finished school. At least that made me feel a little bit more secure. Before Callie and Jude left they both gave me a big hug and promised me that whatever happens they will always be in my life and that they loved me, now that doesn't sound too promising.

My mind is all over the place now, I am sitting at the table with paper and pencils sitting in front of me, I have been trying to distract myself from thinking about this meeting by doing some drawing but it's not working. My anxiety is through the roof and I just can't seem to shake it off. I hear the front door open and Lenas voice radiate through the house "Stef, Charlie. I'm home" Stefs footsteps sound from the top story and make their way down the stairs "Hey love" Stef greets Lena, I can hear muffled voices so they must be whispering to each other about something, probably about me. A few minutes later they both walk into the kitchen "Hey Sweets, can we talk to you for a second before Tim gets here?" my heart automatically begins to race "um sure" I put my pencil down as Stef and Lena sit on the chairs beside me. Stef places her hand on mine, a gesture that I have since gotten use to whilst being in this home "We wanted to talk with you before we talked to Tim to make sure you know what is going to happen and you are not blindsided. We have talked to the family and we have gone over every option in our heads about what we think is best for you and for everyone else in this family. With this in mind we have decided that it would be best for you to stay with us for _now_ until we can find you a safe forever home, so that could be a week or even months as long as it takes" my heart drops, I had a feeling this would be happening but stomach is still in knots hearing them actually say it out loud. Stef continues to talk, squeezing my hand as she does, I can feel her trying to make eye contact with me "but Charlie I assure you that you will only be going to another home when I know it is safe, when I know you will never be hurt ever again, okay?" I finally nod my head, it's not really sinking in but I need to make some kind of gesture that I am listening. Lena is the next to talk now "We have thought this over very throughly and we are going to make sure Tim listens to every word we say as we have lots of conditions" I am listening now "Conditions?" I ask quietly, looking up at Lena "Yes conditions, these being that whoever you go to must be close by, they must allow you to continue going to Anchor Beach Charter School and you are to have full visiting rights with us" I stutter out my next sentence "I..I'm going to your school?" Lena gives me a smile "I have your enrolment form in my bag, we have found you a space so you will just need to sit the exam" I smile back at Lena who embraces me in a hug, I feel Stef wrap her arms around us too "No matter what, you are still going to be a part of this family, even if you are not living under this roof".

The conversation with Stef and Lena didn't go as I would have hoped but surprisingly I'm not as much of a wreck as I thought I would be, they still want me to be a part of their family and they gave their word that I would be safe and for once in my life i am starting to believe it. Stef has just left to greet Tim at the door, Tim just got here and they are now making their way into the kitchen where Lena and I are already seated. Once in the kitchen Stef pours Tim a glass of water and they both sit down around the table, Tim hands my file over to Stef and they begin to talk about my situation, it almost feels as though I am not here rather just sitting here hearing about how my life is going to play out. Stef and Lena tell Tim about their conditions which at first he doesn't seem too keen on, maybe it means more work for him but it doesn't take long for Stef to convince him otherwise. Finally Tim turns to me "Does this all sound okay to you Charlotte? are you okay to stay here for now and agree to what has been said today?" "Umm yes, I guess so" "okay well I guess that is settled then, I will keep you all updated on the process of finding Charlotte a forever home" he goes to stand up, obviously ready to leave but Stef is quick to talk some more "Tim did you know that Charlie has not been to see her heart specialist in years?" Guilt washes over Tims face "It is not my duty to ensure appointments are made, that is of fosters parents duty" "even if it is a serious condition like that of Charlie's?" wow I wasn't expecting this to happen today, it feels weird to have someone stand up for me, especially in front of Tim, who now looks incredibly uncomfortable being here "well.. well I expect foster parents to be responsible and read the files of the children in their care" Tim says, pushing the blame off himself. Stef doesn't back down "you better hope that nothing is wrong after Charlie's appointment on Monday or you will be getting a call from my lawyer. Tim quickly picks up his gear "I'll keep you updated with Charlie's situation and yes let me know how Monday goes" this is the most awkward I have ever seen Tim, finally someone has put him in his place, I smile at Stef who smiles back at me. Lena walks Tim to the front door and makes her way back into the kitchen "Was that really necessary Stef?" "He is such and ass.." Stef begins to say "Stef!" "What he is" Stef says with a shrug. Lena walks over to me "You okay?" She says, "Yeah I am actually" she squeezes my shoulder "Now that you are stuck with us for the next little while we need to sort out where you will be sleeping" "I'm fine on the couch _really_" I say. Stef shakes her head "No way are we leaving you on the couch for any longer. Now we have already talked to the kids about this so don't think you are kicking anyone out of their rooms okay?" I nod my head "Jesus is absolutely stoked that he is going to be moving into the garage and if it's okay with you you can bunker in with Jude?" I let out a smile "If it's okay with Jude then its okay with me" "Great! I guess I will start moving some things around then" Stef replies with a big smile.

**Stef POV**

I am in the garage moving the furniture around to fit Jesus's bed and his many belongings, I will get Jesus to help me with the big furniture and the rest of his things this afternoon. I glad to have some time alone, Lena has taken Charlie into the school to sit her entry exam and show her around the school, she will bring her home with the rest of the kids at the end of the day.

Today was a hard day, I have built a strong connection with Charlie already and it feels like she is my child. It wasn't my first choice to have her not stay with us forever but I am not the only person in this family so the decision was made with each and every persons opinion but I was telling her the truth when I said she is not just going to anyone, I will keep her safe, I will forever keep her safe.

Once I have finished in the garage I decide to start going through Charlie's file, the best time is now when no one else is home. The folder starts off with the death of Colleen and Donald, this of which I have already read in Callie's and Jude's files so I skip past, The next page is Charlie's first foster family, _the Morrisons_, Sandra and Greg, reading through the details this must be the family that was planning to adopt Charlie. I have been wanting to know what happened with the adoption since we found out it fell through but now my heart drops at the thought of knowing. I take a deep breath before I flip the page over and start to read the intricate details. Once I get to the end I can feel tears welling in my eyes, how could they just leave her, leave her when she needed someone the most, they don't deserve to have someone as amazing as Charlie. Reading this just makes me feel even more guilty about telling Charlie that she will be going to another home, I will be making sure that wherever Charlie goes she will be wanted, loved and safe.

I continue reading through the file, there is a lot about Charlies medical history which surprises me because Callie and Judes had lost most of their medical history. I guess because it was a serious ongoing condition would be why it has managed to be upheld. I skim over this as I know I will find out more at Charlie's appointment on Monday. I move through to the list of families Charlie has lived with over the past 10 years, there are so many, I hate imagining her moving from house to house never having anything stable. Going through the list I quickly read the last names:

_Morrison's _

_Harrison's_

_Drake's_

_Tracey's_

_Yara's _

When I get to the next name my heart skips a beat and I have to re read the name to make sure, my mouth opens, "oh my god" I say out loud before I read the name yet again.

_Olmstead's. _

**Please keep reviewing. And stay safe everyone, the world is crazy right now. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone, sorry this update has taken a while. Hope you are all keeping safe amongst these crazy times.**

**Stef POV**

I have just finished ordering pizza for tonight's dinner, I am definitely not in the mood for cooking tonight and I already know that after my conversation with Lena about Charlies file she will not be either. I am still in shock knowing that Charlie spent time living at the Olmsteads, I am just hoping, hoping with everything in me that nothing happened to Charlie like it did with Callie. I don't think I will be able to cope hearing otherwise. It gave me slight relief reading that Charlie was only in the Olmstead household for seventeen days, stating that this placement was just a temporary drop in due to unprecedented circumstances in where Charlie was planning to be moved to. I look back over to Charlie's folder spread out on the table and walk over to start putting everything back in place, the family should be home soon and Charlie wouldn't appreciate her life being spread out for everyone to read. Once it's all filed away again I place the file into my work bag and take it upstairs to the master bedroom, here I can easily pull out the folder tonight to show Lena once the kids are asleep.

The door opens downstairs and I can hear the kids muffled voices making their way into the house, this is my signal to make my way back down to greet them. I see Mariana first who is racing up the stairs "Hi Mom" she says as she rushes past me, at the bottom of the stairs Brandon and Jesus are discussing a fight that happened today on the school field, they both give me a hug but continue their conversation as they make their way into the kitchen. Callie, Jude and Charlie all walk in closely followed by Lena "Hey my lovelies, how was school today?" "Apart from a bit of drama at lunchtime, which I'm presuming the boys have already told you about considering it's all they talked about the whole car ride back, it was a good day" Lena says before she plants a kiss on my lips. Callie and Jude both give me brief answers about how their day was fine before they give me a hug and head into the kitchen, "How did your entry exam go Charlie?" I say, she has kept herself in the corner rather then engage in my initial greeting. She looks between Lena and I "um I think I did good" "I think so too, we will know your marks on Monday and if all goes well you can start on Tuesday" Lena replies to both Charlie and I. I instantly smile "Thats awesome, I'm sure you did great" Charlie gives me a smile before she follows Jude and Callie into the kitchen.

Lena turns to me as soon as Charlie is out of earshot "What's up Stef? I could sense something was up the moment I set eyes on you" my shoulders slump "That obvious huh?" "I can read you like a book" states Lena with a sad smile. I grab Lenas hand for comfort, "I read through Charlie's file and some of it was.. it wasn't good news Lena" I let out a sigh "but I will talk to you tonight, it's not something I want the kids to overhear" Lena instantly has a look of worry, which I respond to by stroking my finger down her cheek "dont worry my love, it is nothing we can change now, it's just another challenge we might need to work through but you know us, we will get there" we share a hug before making our way into the kitchen.

**Charlie POV **

I have just finished my last bite of pizza, it was delicious. I can't even remember the last time I have eaten pizza but it was just as good as I remember. I look over to Stef who is looking at me with a big grin "You enjoyed that did you?" I can't help the laugh that escapes my lips, I must have been making my enjoyment noticable to everyone because the whole family starts to laugh alongside me, even Brandon. My heart skips a beat, this is what it's like to be in a loving family. I look back to Stef "It was yum, thank you!" "You are very welcome" she replies. Everyone starts to stand up and tidy up the mess that was once dinner, Stef moves over to the medicine basket and grabs my medication out, right on time like always, she hands me the correct amount of pills and I use my water from dinner to swallow them down one by one. Everyone starts to file out of the kitchen and make their way to the living room, apparently because it's Friday it means it's family movie night. Lena has just finished making a bowl of popcorn and makes her way to join everyone else, leaving only Stef and I in the kitchen "How is your ribs tonight love?" She asks me "yeah much better, thanks for helping me" Stef walks over to me and wraps me in a hug as she says "Always", a smile spreads across my face. Stef pulls back and looks me in the eyes, she has her hands on my shoulders "you know you can tell me anything right? You can trust me" I nod my head in reply, even though I know there is a lot of things I will probably never share with this woman or anyone for that matter. For some reason I can see concern in Stefs eyes as she continues talking "if you are ever worried or scared you can tell me or if you have something bothering you you can always come to me with no judgement, okay?" I feel like Stef wants me to share something with her but I don't know what "yeah, thanks Stef" is all I say. Lenas voice sounds from the living room "Stef, Charlie are you coming? Jesus has already eaten half of the popcorn!" Stef laughs before she grabs my hand "Come on then, we better get in there if we want to have any popcorn left for the movie" happy butterflies fill my stomach as I follow Stef into the living room hand in hand, it's going to be harder then I thought to keep my walls up in this house that's for sure.

**This is a bit of a fill in chapter, as I have had a bit of a break from writing I had to get my mojo back but I wanted to let you all know I am still here and still planning to finish this story. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter! Remember to review, it keeps me motivated to write when I know people are enjoying it. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Charlie POV**

It's now Sunday night and I have just climbed into bed for the night, I'm sharing a room with Jude but it almost feels like I have a room to myself. Mike, Brandon's dad, had come over on Saturday morning with a big room divider which he helped Stef install in the middle of the room, it almost reaches the roof. Although I like sharing a room with Jude the divider gives Jude and I privacy which is nice.

My mind is racing tonight and my anxiety is back in full force, I have my appointment with Dr Travey tomorrow and I am dreading what he will have to say to me. I will also find out whether I will be attending Anchor Beach, I am pretty sure I did well in the test but there is still a slight tinge of worry in my gut that I might not get in. With all this at the back of my mind I doubt I will be having much sleep tonight at the rate of how I am feeling right now.

I think back to my first weekend with the Fosters, it was such a nice weekend and I have loved spending time with not only Callie and Jude but the rest of the family too. I went food shopping with Lena and Callie where Lena let me choose a meal for the week, I chose Lasagna in which I found out was one of Lenas favourite meals too. She even let Callie and I choose a treat at the counter because we helped her with the shopping, Callie got a chocolate bar and I chose a small bag of jelly beans. On Saturday night we played board games, Brandon wasn't there because he stayed at Mikes house but the rest of the family played. I found out that Stef and Jesus are very competitive and definitely don't like to lose, especially when they teamed up to play charades. I was on a team with Lena and Jude and we won the last game of the night, I smile at the happy memory. My mind continues to think about life at the Fosters, I wish this could last forever.

Suddenly my eyes open to the sound of birds chirping from the trees outside, I must have finally fallen asleep surprisingly. I can hear footsteps out in the hallway meaning some of the family must be awake already. Lena pops her head through the open door "Time to get up sleepyheads, breakfast is ready in the kitchen" she leaves the room and I hear her footsteps as she makes her way down the staircase. Jude is quick to get up "Morning Charlie" he says as he walks out of the door and goes to the bathroom to get ready. I lie on my back looking up at the ceiling for a while before I slowly start to get myself ready for today.

I walk into the kitchen last, everyone is already seated and eating either cereal or toast. Callie is the first to greet me "Hey Charlie, how was your sleep?" I take the spare seat next to her "Good" I say with a smile. It doesn't surprise me when Stef hands me my medications and a glass of orange juice "Here love" it's on que now, I gulp them down with my juice. Although I still get some pain when I sit, stand or do drastic movements the pain has definitely subsided a lot now. I pour myself come cereal and milk and start to eat, it's when I go to eat my first mouthful that I realise I'm not even hungry, it must be the nervous butterflies that are currently floating around in my stomach. Stef is the first one to notice "You okay love?" "Yeah, I'm just not very hungry this morning" she shares a look with Lena "Are you nervous about your appointment?" Lena says "yeah, I guess" I reply. Stef reaches out and gives my hand a little squeeze "You need to at least eat a little bit this morning okay, even if it's only a few mouthfuls" I nod my head and force my first mouthful of cereal down. It ends up taking me about fifteen minutes to eat half my bowl of cereal, although it was hard to eat I feel a bit better now. I help Stef with the dishes as the rest of the family are getting ready to leave for school, once the kitchen is clean Stef says bye to everyone before she heads up the stairs to get ready leaving me downstairs by myself. The rest of the Fosters left a couple of minutes ago, Lena, Callie and Jude all gave me a hug and wished me luck before they left. I am already ready to leave so I make my way into the living room to wait for Stef, this is the first time that I have actually had time to look around this room by myself, it is so homely and there are photos of each member of the family spread across the room. Photos of everyone together and a lot of individual photos too, I pick up a photo of the Fosters all together, it looks like it is from a party or something, I look at each person they all look so happy. I wonder if I will ever be in a photo like this, will I ever be displayed proudly on a wall or cabinet. Stef interrupts my thoughts as she walks into the room "You ready to leave Charlie?" I put the photo back but before I do Stef notices the photo I was holding and walks over with a smile on her face "That was taken at Callies sixteenth birthday party" I smile back, a sad smile "it's a nice photo" I quickly change the subject "I guess we should go then?" "Let's do it" Stef replies as she grabs her keys and leads the way to the front door.

**Stef POV**

Charlie and I are sitting in the waiting room at the hospital in silence, Charlie hasn't really said a word since we left the house, I tried to start up a conversation on the drive here but I got the vibe that she really didn't feel like talking so we just listened to the radio instead. I filled Lena in about Charlie's file on Friday night and we both decided it would be best to talk to Charlie after today was over, we could tell she was already stressed about her appointment and we didn't want to stress her out even more by bringing up her past. Lena was just as shocked and upset as I was by the news of Charlie being in the Olmsteads household.

We have been sitting in this waiting room for about twenty minutes now, a nurse had come and talked to us about five minutes ago and said they were running a bit behind schedule but Dr Travey will be free to see us around 9:20am, I notice Charlie is starting to get restless next to me as she shuffles her body position every minute or so. I grab her hand and give her a smile, she smiles back which signals to me that it's okay to try and comfort her right now.

Five minutes later a nurse approaches us in the waiting room "Charlotte Jacobs" both Charlie and I stand up and follow the nurse towards Dr Traveys exam room. When we enter the room a man who looks to be in his early forties greets us and shakes my hand "Hello, I'm Dr James Travey and you must be Charlie's current foster parent?" "Hi, Yes my name is Stef Adams-Foster" "Nice to meet you Stef" he replies. Dr Travey then turns to Charlotte "and how are you Charlie, it's been a while" Charlie looks awkward as she stands next to me "Yeah, I'm okay" she says to the doctor. He points to the two seats opposite his desk "Take a seat" he says as he himself sits on his chair behind the desk. Dr Travey pulls up a file on his computer before he turns to us again "Now I have already had a good talk to Dr Smith last week, she said you were feeling good?" I watch Charlie as nods in response "yeah I feel fine" she adds, "That's great" Dr Travey says, "Now today I would like to get you on the cardiac monitor and run a few extra tests to make sure everything looks okay from the inside because I haven't seen you in a few years I don't want to take any chances" Charlie nods her head again "okay" "A nurse will be down in a few minutes to grab you for a chest x-ray and some blood tests and once those are done we can put you onto the cardiac monitor, sound good?" Once again the question is met with a nod "mhmm" she says.

Within a minute a nurse knocks on the door and Charlie is taken to another room, i watch Charlie's back as she leaves the room, I turn back to Dr Travey as he begins to talk to me "Now that I have you here without Charlie I just wanted to go over a few things with you if that's okay" "Of course" I say in reply. Dr Travey pulls out some brochures and forms from his top drawer "I am very glad that you have brought Charlie in for her appointment today as you already know her other foster parents have failed to do so. These appointments are vital in ensuring that Charlie's condition does not deteriorate because you need to know that if it does it can become very serious" my heart drops "yes I understand and I am planning to stick around to make sure she always makes her appointments" Dr Travey returns a sad smile in my direction "That sounds great Mrs Adams Foster because she really is a great kid and she deserves to have someone around to look out for her. She hasn't had the best luck on her side over the years" sadness overcomes me "yes I know, unfortunately" he pushes the pieces of paper towards me "Here is some information regarding Charlie's condition and any signs to look out for in regards to her condition deteriorating, now she is not on any medication we are feeling positive that she should be okay but it's important for you to be informed just in case" I grab the brochure and have a quick look through before I file them away in my bag to read through later. I look back up to Dr Travey "So what happens now after Charlie's tests today?" "If all her tests come back normal then I will book a appointment for Charlie to come back in three months from now but if there is anything slightly different then we will organise a plan from there, it could be as simple as her needing to take some temporary medication to help get her levels back to normal" I nod my head signalling I am taking in all this information "considering Charlie has stated that she is feeling fine I don't think we have anything big to worry about" Dr Travey reassures me.

Thirty minutes pass before Charlie enters the exam room again, she gives me a small smile before seating herself next to me "sorry about the wait, there was a bit of a queue in radiology" the nurse says to Dr Travey "that's okay, thank you Jenny" he turns to Charlie "How did that go Charlie?" "Yeah, it was fine" Charlie responds, Dr Travey gives her a smile "I see you are just as talkative as you were three years ago" Charlie smiles at his joking comment. Although Charlie seemed awkward at the start of her appointment I can see that she does actually seem comfortable with Dr Travey, thinking about it now I guess this man was the only continuous adult that Charlie has probably had over the past thirteen years.

The rest of the morning consists of Charlie doing a few more tests but everything comes back fine "It was good to see you again Charlie and I'm very happy to see you are doing well. Everything seems to be looking good from what I have seen today and I will have your bloods back tomorrow morning. I will give you a call tomorrow with those results and if need be we will make an appointment for you to come back in but I am feeling positive that I won't be seeing you for a few months" Charlie is smiling next to me "Thank you so much Dr Travey" I say, "Thank you for caring Mrs Foster, it's nice to see someone on Charlie's side for once. Now go enjoy the rest of your day and I'll keep in touch about those blood tests". We say our goodbyes and make our way back to the car, Charlie must have been nervous about today because she suddenly has a whole new aura about her. Once in the car I give Lena a call to share with her the good news, she is thrilled to hear that the appointment went well "Can you hand me to Charlie for a second" I hand the phone in Charlie's direction "Lena wants to talk to you" Charlie raises her eyebrows slightly as she puts the phone to her ear "Uh hello?" I can only hear Lenas voice muffled through the phone speaker so I can't make out what she is saying but a huge grin appears on Charlie's face "Thank you Lena. Yes see you later, bye" Charlie hangs up the phone, her grin radiating through the car, this is the happiest I have seen her "I got into Anchor Beach!" She says excitedly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Stef POV**

I sip on my morning coffee as the Thursday morning sun streams in through the kitchen windows, Lena and I are waiting for Charlie to get out of the shower, we decided we are going to ask her about her file this morning. Lena is starting work a bit later today so she will take Charlie into school with her, Brandon drove the rest of the kids in this morning. The last few days have been going well, Charlies blood tests came back with the all okay so Dr Travey booked her in for an another appointment in three months time and she seems to be really enjoying being at school. Lena is anxiously moving food around in the pantry "Come sit down love, you are making me feel anxious just from watching you" Lena gazes over to me "I can't help it, I need to be doing something to try take my mind off the conversation we are about to have. I just.. I just hope that.." Lena stutters on her words, but I know what she is trying to say "I know love, me too but we have to remember to try be strong for Charlie, If what she tells us is bad then we need to help her through this. Like with Callie okay?" Lena closes the pantry and walks over to me, putting her arms around me from behind "I love you so much Mrs Adams-Foster" Smiling I reply "I love you too Mrs Adams-Foster, we got this".

A few minutes go by before I hear Charlies footsteps coming down the stairs, Lena takes a deep breath beside me and I do the same. I can do this, I look to Lena, We can do this. Charlie enters the kitchen, her hair is damp from the shower and she is wearing the maroon jumper that Mariana gave her "Come sit down love, there is something we wanted to talk to you about before you and Lena head off for school" hesitantly Charlie sits down in front of me "I haven't really had much time to talk to you over the last few days as I have been catching up with work, how has school been? You seem to be really happy there" "Um yeah it's really good, I like art and photography the most" She replies, I smile in return "Those are Callie's favourites too. Have you made any friends yet?" Charlie looks down at her hands that are resting on the table "Not really, but everyone seems to be nice. I eat my lunch with Jude and his friends at lunchtime". I wanted to start off with a different subject before asking about Charlies file but I can't stall forever so I take another big breath before I start the conversation Lena and I have been dreading "Charlie.. there is something Lena and I want to ask you and we want you to know that you are safe to tell us anything in this house, okay?" Charlie looks between Lena and I "Okay" she says. I look to Lena who gives me a nod before I continue "You know that when we met with Tim he gave me your file" Charlie nods "Well I was looking through your file and I saw you spent time with a family called the Olmsteads" I look to Charlie for any reaction to the name but she stares at me blankly "We just wanted to ask you if anything _happened _when you were living there" Charlie is taking a while to respond but I don't notice any extreme emotion show on her face, I look to Lena as we wait for Charlie to respond, Lena looks just as nervous as I feel, finally Charlie starts to talk "the Olmstead's.." she is taking her time to talk almost like she is remembering something. I feel my leg start to bounce up and down under the table but within a few seconds I feel Lenas hand rub up and down my leg to help calm my nerves "yeah I was there a few years ago, not for long though. It wasn't a bad place, I mean I have been in worse places then the Olmsteads" Charlies says. I let out a big breath "So nothing happened there, nothing that worries you or made you feel unsafe?" I blurt out the question without thinking "Um no, no not at the Olmsteads. Why are you asking me that?" Charlie replies. Relief overcomes me and I feel Lena relaxing next to me too "Oh thank god" Lena says next to me, I look to Charlie who looks confused, "I know of a case regarding the Olmsteads and I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened when you were living there" "Oh.. okay. Yeah it was fine there. It was only Mr and Mrs Olmstead there because their son was at some camp? I don't remember his name" I can't help the smile that forms on my face, I get up and give Charlie a hug "Thats so great, so great love" I look over to Lena who is also smiling, Charlie still look confused "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" she says, "Yeah that was all, unless there was anything else you wanted to tell us?" Charlie shakes her head "I don't think so?" "Well then, you and Lena better start getting ready to go so you get into school in time for second period" Charlie gets up from the chair "okay, i'll go get my bag". As Charlie leaves the room I walk over to Lena and embrace her in a huge hug "Well at least that's one less thing to worry about" we share a kiss before Lena starts to get ready to leave.

**Charlie POV**

Lena is driving us to the school, my mind keeps reeling over the conversation I had with Stef and Lena this morning. Why were they so curious about the Olmsteads, I feel that it was something more then just a 'case' that Stef had worked on, as they were talking to me they both had so much emotion in their eyes. The Olmsteads wasn't a bad home, I mean I had a bed and they fed me, I was only there for a few weeks so I guess I didn't have enough time there for them to get sick of me, that's when things usually go downhill. I'm just glad that they didn't ask me about the Drake family, they can never find out about the Drake family. Goosebumps run down my spine as memories overcome me, dark memories. I close my eyes and shake them away. Lena looks over to me with a worried look "You okay?" "Yeah, yeah i'm fine" "What class do you have first?" Lena asks, "English, I'm a bit behind though" "You'll catch up, you haven't been in school for a few months but if you need help we can sit down after school and practice?" "Yeah that would be great, thanks Lena" I reply with a smile. The car pulls into the school carpark and I say goodbye to Lena and make my way into the school, looking at the building in front of me I let out a smile, I can't believe how much has changed in a week, luck is finally on my side.

**Let me know your thoughts. I find it hard to skip straight to drama so I hope that this story isn't too slow for you all. **

**Share your thoughts - is there anything you want me to try to add in to the story, any relationships you want me to write about more, more scenes with characters etc. **

**The storyline in my head keeps growing and a bit of drama will start in the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Stef POV**

The last two weeks have flown by and surprisingly life doesn't seem too stressful, I have even managed to have two days to spend with just Brandon, we went to the movies and the arcade which has definitely seemed to help our relationship. I thought having six kids in the house would make everything change, make everything harder but Charlie is so independent that there haven't been many issues. Everyone seems to be use to having Charlie with us now and she seems to be becoming more confident by the day. This morning I listened from upstairs to all the kids laughing over breakfast about a video on YouTube, Charlie included, she is really starting to feel like a member of this family and my love for her just continues to grow each day. I keep going through scenarios in how we can keep her in the house but I know that every person in our household would have to be on board for that to happen. A pile of folders are placed on the corner of my desk and I am awoken from my daydream "Hey Foster, here's that paperwork you requested for the McCulloch case" I look up "Great, thank you Oliver", as I start to look through the files my phone rings from my pocket. Pulling it out I notice Tim's name written across the screen, my heart sinks. I press the green receiver button "Hello, Stefanie Foster speaking" Tims voice sounds down the phone "Hi Stef, It's Tim here, Charlotte Jacobs social worker. how are you?" "I'm good, what leads you to calling Tim?" Tim clears his throat "Ahh yes straight to the point I see Stef" he laughs "Well I have some good news, we have found a family interested in adopting Charlotte" my stomach drops even further "You have?" Tim continues "Yes we have, their names are Meredith and Denny Montgomery, I have met them already as they have adopted a child with us before. They are a lovely couple who have two children already, one adopted and one biological and they do not live too far from you which means Charlie will still be able to attend her current school" Although this all sounds great I can't help but feel sad "That sounds good Tim, do they know of all our conditions?" "Yes, I have informed them and they seem okay with all conditions. I have also told them that you would like to meet them first and they have agreed and asked if they could meet you and Charlie tomorrow, if that works for you?" Tim asks, "Tomorrow? So soon?" "Yes, well they said they would like to get to know Charlie and get started on the adoption process as soon as possible" I don't realise that I haven't replied until Tim starts repeating my name down the phone line "Oh uh, I will talk to Lena and can I get back to you about the meeting tomorrow?" "If you can let me know in the next hour that would be great, it's not often that a family wants to adopt a teenager Stef so we don't want to lose this opportunity.. for Charlottes sake" I roll my eyes, he does not care at all about Charlie so hearing him say that makes my blood boil, "I will call Lena now and get back to you as soon as possible" "Great, I will talk to you soon then. Bye Stef" Tim hangs up the phone before I even have the chance to say bye in return. A sigh escapes my lips as I lean my forehead onto my folded arms atop of my desk. I stay like this for at least five minutes before I get the courage to finally call Lena.

My phone call to Lena was short and sweet, she seemed to have a similar reaction to mine, finding the news of a probable family for Charlie bittersweet. She said she would organise work around the meeting so to give Tim the go ahead, she also reminded me that our decision to have Charlie get adopted by someone else was what we believe would be in her best interests as well as the rest of the family. Although my stomach feels slightly nauseous I know Lena is right and I make an appointment to meet the Montgomery family at 10:30am tomorrow. I will tell Charlie tonight when she gets home from school.

**Charlie POV**

This week I am finally feeling better about English, Lena and Callie have been helping me a bit each day after school and I am starting to feel more confident in reading and writing. I arrived home around thirty minutes ago and now I'm lying on my bed filling in my poetry journal that's due next week. It feels like I'm only lying here for a few minutes before I hear a small knock on the bedroom door "come in", Lena, Stef and Callie all come into the room. Callie looks like she has been crying "is everything okay? I ask. Lena comes over and sits next to me "Can we talk to you for a sec?" I nod in response, at this Callie sits on my other side and Stef grabs the chair from Judes desk and sits in front of me. It's weird that they are all here to talk, it must be something important "Tim called me today.. and he thinks he has found a family that wants to adopt you" Stef says as she holds my hand, my stomach drops, I don't want to leave "oh, that was fast" is all I muster up to say. I look to Callie who gives me a sad smile "Moms just told me downstairs and I wanted to be here when they told you, from the sounds of it the family seems really nice and you will be really close by so we can see you all the time" I take my eyes away from the three people staring at me, I don't want another family, I want this one. I don't really know what to say, there is nothing really to say so I end up blurting out "so when am I leaving? Should I pack my bags now?", Stef looks taken aback by my abrupt outburst "We have a meeting with the Montgomerys tomorrow, you, Lena and I, from there we will come up with a plan with Tim but if any of us, including you, don't have a good feeling about this family then you will not go and live with them okay?" I nod my head in agreement but I know that I should just go with this family anyway, I mean why draw out the inevitable.

Lena gives me a hug before she leaves to start dinner and Stef is quick to follow, Callie stays behind and we have a chat about how she is going to make sure we stay a family no matter what. I feel like what she is saying is going straight through me though and I can't help feeling that as soon as I leave here everything is going to change again. At least I get to meet this family first and who knows maybe they will be nice like the Fosters, I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

The morning comes around quick and it isn't long before I am in the car with both Stef and Lena as we make our way to the Montgomery house. Callie tried to convince Stef and Lena to let her come too but they didn't want to overcrowd the Montgomerys. I have already packed up most of my things last night, I know where this is going to go so I thought I better be prepared. Stef has been awfully quiet all morning and Lena has been restfully cleaning the house, they seem to be almost as nervous as I am.

Sitting in the backseat I look at all the houses we are passing, they seem to keep getting bigger and bigger, this is not a regular looking neighbourhood for a foster home. There are houses with huge gates and lush looking hedges, fancy cars and gardeners busy pruning trees. Suddenly we pull into a driveway that is shielded by high walls and big black gates. Stef turns from the seat to look at me "well I think this is the one, looks pretty big huh?" she says with a smirk, "Yeah something like that" I reply. Stef puts her head out the window and speaks into a small black box on the side of the gate "Hi, it's Stefanie Foster, we are here with Charlie" a few seconds later a mans voice comes through the small black box, "Great, there is parking in front of the garages" the big gates in front of us opens and reveals a long driveway shaded by large green trees. Stef puts the car into gear and starts to drive forward, after about a minute a building starts to appear through the trees, it's huge, it looks to be two stories high but it is super long "Wow" I say under my breath, "You got that right" Lena says as she moves her head to get a better look at the mansion in front of us. Turning a corner we come across the 'garage' or the six garages that I can see "I guess I park anywhere" Stef says and she pulls up next to a black sedan that I recognise as Tims. We all hop out of the car and make our way to the front doors, Stef walks with her arm around my shoulders "You ready?" I nod my head "I think so", the door opens before we even have time to knock and a tall lean man with dark brown hair and slim woman with long auburn curly hair are quick to greet us "Hi you must be Charlotte, I am Meredith and this is my husband Denny. It is so nice to finally meet you" the woman says, "Here, come in and take a seat. Tim is already in the room waiting" Denny says pointing in the direction to a large room, the room has huge couches and a massive fireplace on the far wall. As I take a seat on the couch Stef and Lena protectively sit on either side of me, I instantly feel a sense of comfort from this gesture, Tim is seated in an armchair to my right and Denny and Meredith take a seat to my left on another couch. I look around the room, it is filled with decorative pieces of art, i'm in absolute awe, I have only ever seen art like this in an art museum, never in somebodies home. I'm pulled from my observations as I hear Tim's voice "Hi Stef, Lena and Charlotte" giving us each a nod "I am mostly just here because of policy so feel free to talk amongst yourselves and get to know each other, we don't usually have meetings like this so it's a good opportunity to ask questions before you move in Charlotte" he looks at me with a look that speaks 'don't screw this up'. I look away from Tim and look to Meredith and Denny, "Your house is really big" Meredith gives a little laugh "It is, and there is only four of us that live here so we felt a need to add another person into our family, that's why we looked at adopting again" "Where are your kids now?" I ask "They are both at school, Our son Cameron who is seventeen and our daughter Claudia who is fifteen" I nod in response, not really knowing what to say next, Stef is the one that asks the next question "Tim has told me that he has filled you in about all our conditions regarding Charlie coming to live with you?" Denny looks to Tim and nods before turning to Stef "Yes he has told us and we are more then happy to support Charlotte and your family in meeting these, My wife and I have always wanted a big family and this way I guess your family will become ours" he looks to his wife and smiles. Stef places her hand on my leg and gives a squeeze of reassurance "And my wife and I are curious, as Tim has already said it's not very common for people to want to adopt a teenager, why are _you_ wanting to?" I get a jolt of hurt through my chest but I know it is a necessary question "we already have two teenagers so we know all about what a teenager brings" Meredith says as she smiles at me "and to tell you the truth we did think about finding a younger child to fulfil our family but after lots of discussions with both my husband and children we all decided as a family that another teenager would best fit our family" she continues. I look up at the Montgomerys who are both smiling hopefully at me, I can't help but smile back, these two certainly have a _special_ charm to them and of course I would love to live in a house like this.

We continue to talk for another thirty minutes, the discussion includes my medical history, in which Stef repeatedly said how important it was for them to take me to my appointments and if they can't then Lena or herself would take me. The Montgomerys also agreed to me having dinner with the Fosters every Monday and Thursday to make sure I have time to spend with Jude and Callie, everything I heard sounded good and my nerves of leaving the Fosters seemed to be decreasing as the conversation went on.

After talking the Montgomerys show us around their house, each room is filled with unique antiques and decor, my amazement continues to grow at each piece I notice. The hallways are huge and are filled with family photos, some from what looks like Meredith and Denny's wedding and photos of Cameron and Claudia in various clothes and places, in every photo the family is grinning from ear to ear, they seem like the _perfect_ family. I look to Stef and Lena who look just as amazed as I am, Stef is holding my hand and gives it a squeeze every so often. We come across a closed door which Meredith excitedly holds the handle "Now I know you haven't decided if you are going to come and live here yet but I couldn't help it and I had to get this room decorated, this is your room, i mean.. if you want to come and be a part of our family it will be your room" she opens the door to a bedroom the size of a small house, my mouth opens in a wide 'O' and I hear Stef giggle next to me. I take a step inside, the room is beautiful, it has plants and art and an amazing olive green bedspread with exquisite details, "this is amazing" I say to both Meredith and Denny who is standing at the door with Stef and Lena "we thought you would like it, I talked to Tim and he said you were not a girly girl so I tried to make it as neutral as I could" Meredith says "it really is amazing, thank you for doing this" Denny and Meredith both smile "So does this mean you want to come and be a member of our family?" Meredith says with a smile, "I.. Uhh" I look to Stef and Lena, they are both smiling at me but it's not necessarily happy smiles, they look almost sad but I heard what they said a few weeks ago and I know they don't want to me stay with them forever and when will a chance to live in a house like this ever come up again? I take my eyes away from the Fosters and back to Meredith and Denny "Yeah, okay. I will come and live with you" Meredith and Denny both run up to me and give me a hug, it's not an enjoyable hug though, something feels off, it definitely doesn't feel the same as when Stef or Lena hug me. Once the hug is finished Denny heads back down to Tim to fill in some paperwork and Meredith, Stef, Lena and I all slowly walk back together to the room we started off in, Stef is walking with me under her arm. Once in the room Tim instantly starts to congratulate me "This is amazing news Charlotte, i'm so glad you finally found a forever home. Now I had all the paperwork prepared and once Denny and Meredith have it all signed I will take it straight to the office and filed" It's all starting to feel real now and suddenly the situation is making me feel uneasy, Meredith chimes in as she pulls me into another awkward hug that doesn't sit well in my stomach "So when can Charlotte come and live with us, I'm sorry I just can't contain my excitement" she says, an awkward laugh escapes my lips as i wait for Tim's reply "Well if all things go to plan Charlotte should be living here tomorrow evening" he says with a smile. I look to Stef and Lena and let out a small cough "Tomorrow? wow that's so soon?" Lena squeezes my shoulder and Stef holds my hand on the same side as Meredith is still clutching my arm on my left side "Well I don't think we will come across any problems.. so the sooner the better right!" Denny says, Tim packs up his gear and we all head to the front door. The Mongomerys farewell us and embrace me in yet another over the top and uneasy hug.

Driving down the driveway I take a look at the house disappearing behind me, the bad feeling that I have felt most of my life is back, have I made the wrong decision?. I shake the thoughts from my head, no i'm just over thinking, it will be okay and if it isn't well it's too late now, the decision has been made.

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**The drama is beginning, what is your first impression on the Montgomery family? Are they hiding something? Let me know your thoughts. **

**Next chapter will be up soon. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Made it to chapter 20! Thanks for the support and reviews, it keeps me motivated to continue. **

**Charlie POV**

My last dinner living with the Fosters is filled with staggered conversations, everyone is awkwardly asking questions about the Montgomery's and their house. Brandon and Mariana haven't said much but they have both been giving me looks of guilt throughout the afternoon, I already know they said they didn't want me to stay here from the conversation I overheard a few weeks ago. I have returned a smile when I notice them look at me, I want them to know that I don't blame them but I also don't know how to tell them without admitting to the fact that I listened to the families private conversation.

We are having Pizza again tonight but this time it is homemade, I'm guessing the choice to have pizza is because they know it's my favourite and they are trying to give me a 'happy' send off. This dinner is far from happy though, Jude hasn't talked to anyone since he found out I was leaving and he has already left the table to have a shower. Callie, Stef and Lena have been trying to keep the conversation flowing but in all honesty I don't really feel like talking so my replies are somewhat apathetic.

After dinner I am up in my room, actually I guess I can't really call this my room anymore, I think to myself as I look around the small space in which I have been living in for the past 3 weeks. Although small I have come to enjoy being in this space, it is the first place I have felt safe to sleep. I pick up my duffel bag and start to put the last of my belongings in my bag, I leave everything that the Fosters have given me in the drawers and only take what I came with. I hear someone come out of the bathroom and I take that as my cue to jump in for a shower, I grab my towel and pajamas but before I leave my room Stef and Lena appear at the door "Hi love" Stef says with a smile, "We just wanted to see how you were feeling, you have been very quiet this afternoon". I give them a small smile, it's the best I can muster at the moment "I'm fine, just tired" Stef and Lena walk into the room "It was a big day" they sit down on the single bed with a space between them, Stef pats the spot between them "Come sit Charlie" I have become used to these moments so it doesn't make me feel as awkward as it use to, I put my pajamas and towel a top of my drawers before I take a seat on the bed too. Stef holds my hand "So how are you really feeling about moving to the Montgomery's? and be honest because honey I know that you are not just 'fine'" I slump my shoulders "I mean I am excited to go live there, I mean you saw that house right, it's amazing! But I am nervous and anxious and worried.. worried that I won't see Callie or Jude.. or" I drop my voice to a whisper "you guys" Lena wraps her arms around me "You are not going to lose Callie, Jude or us, we promise you. Look at me Charlie" I lift my gaze up to meet Lenas eyes "We promise you are still going to be a part of this family, always and forever" she continues. A tear escapes my eye and I quickly lift up my hand to wipe it away, Stef and Lena squeeze me in a hug from each side before Stef pulls something out from behind her back "And we have got you a little something" I notice that the box she is holding is for a phone "We got you this so that you can contact us or any of the other kids whenever you want. I have put all of our numbers in there, including Lena and my work numbers" she hands it over to me "Thanks" I reply with a smile "and by whenever you want I mean it, if you are feeling sad, worried or even if it's in the middle of the night you can send us a message, okay?" I look down at the phone, although this phone is just a material object it brings me happiness to know I will still have something to connect with the Fosters even when I'm not here "Okay, I will" Stef gives me one more hug "Okay kiddo, go have your shower so you can get into bed. Another big day tomorrow" she says as her and Lena leave the room. I shove the phone into my duffel bag, these two woman definitely have a way to make me feel better. Although I have had a feeling of uneasiness in my stomach all afternoon I push it down further. Everything will work out, it has too.

**Stef POV**

I loudly exhale as I hop into bed beside Lena, "Are we doing the right thing my love?" Lena puts her book to the side and turns to me "I hope so" she says as she puts her head on my chest, I wrap my arms around her "Me too". We lie in silence for a few minutes, I run the events of today over and over in my head "Did you think the Montgomery's were.. I don't know.. a bit over enthusiastic" I ask, "They were excited Stef, remember how excited we were when we adopted our kids?" Lena replies. I think it over for a second "Yeah.. I know but they only met Charlie today, we knew and loved our kids when we adopted them" Lena lifts her head off my chest and looks me in the eyes "Stef you are doing your overthinking thing.. Meredith and Denny they are good people, Tim couldn't praise them enough. Charlie is going to a good home, I truly believe it" she says. I think over Lena's words before I pull her back into my embrace "Yeah, I hope so". Our conversation ends for the night but I can't stop thinking about the Montgomery's, registering some things that just didn't feel right about them, they were so chipper and perfect, no one is that perfect, they can't be. I am going to look them up in the system tomorrow, just to make sure I am not missing something, I promised Charlie I am going to protect her and I will not break that promise. I look at Lena who has closed her eyes and is slowly drifting off to sleep, she is probably right I am overthinking again but that is what I do. I turn off my bedside lamp and close my eyes too, not that sleep will be coming to me anytime soon.

**Charlie POV**

I hear Stefs alarm ring from their bedroom, It feels as if I didn't sleep at all last night, I was tossing and turning all night with my mind reeling over what my life is about to become. I decide to get up now considering I don't think I will be getting anymore sleep, I quickly get changed into my clothes for school and grab my poetry journal before I make my way down the stairs.

Within two minutes of planting myself at the kitchen table Stef joins me, "Morning" she says, "Morning, the coffee pot is already on for you" Stef looks at me with inquisition. I shrug my shoulders "I heard your alarm" Stef grabs out a cup and pours her coffee "Thanks sweets". She sits down in front of me "You ready for today?" "Yeah I guess so, do you know what time I will be going?" Stef gives me a sad smile "Not yet, Tim should be calling sometime this morning when you are at school. But you will be coming here first before you go to the Montgomery's" she says, "Okay" I reply with a nod.

Stef looks down at my journal "How is your homework coming along? Lena said you were feeling better about it now" I look at my writing "yeah I think it's going good, we have to write a poem about the four different seasons, I'm almost finished now" Stef grins "that's great, I was never very good at English myself, physical education was more my cup of tea" admits Stef with a laugh. Stef stands up "Well since we are up early.." she opens up the pantry and pulls out a bottle of pancake mix "how about pancakes for breakfast!?" I can't help but feel excited "yes!.. I mean yes please" I say giggling, Stef waves me over "Come on then, you can do the mixing" I jump off the stool and grab the mixer out of Stefs hand with a broad smile, challenge accepted.

**Stef POV**

I walk into the precinct with one thing on my mind, I am going to check the system to ensure there is nothing I have missed about the Montgomery's. Sitting at my desk I start typing, I search Meredith first. All that comes up is her extensive work with charities, she has also donated money to children's hospitals all around the country throughout the past ten years. I keep searching but I cannot find anything remotely negative about this woman, maybe she is as perfect as she seems. Next I search Denny, the results come up with much of the same, he is a businessman who also delves in charity work, there is nothing that I would deem worrying. I close the tabs, maybe I am worrying over nothing.

An hour later my phone rings, it's Tim, I press the receiver "Hello Tim" "Hi Stefanie, I just wanted to let you know that all the paperwork has gone through and we are good to go!" Tim says, "I have already informed the Montgomery's and they can't wait to have Charlotte move in", "So will Charlie be moving this evening then?" I say, "Ahh yes well the Montgomery's have said the sooner the better so I am planning to pick up Charlotte around one" I shake my head even though Tim can't see the gesture through the phone "Charlie is at school Tim and she needs to get her things from our home first. Can we make it later, say four?" Tim is silent down the phone "Hmm I will have to get back in touch with the Montgomery's but that should be fine. I'll be at your house at four" he says, "See you then, bye". I hang up the phone, that's that then, it's all official Charlie is leaving. I slump down in my chair, suddenly guilt overcomes me, guilt that is telling me I should have done more, guilt that is telling me that the Montgomery's are not who they seem, guilt that is telling me I have made a mistake.


	21. Chapter 21

**Charlie POV**

Sitting in the back on Tim's car I clutch my duffel bag to my front, we are making our way to my new home, the Montgomery's. I wasn't surprised when Lena told me at lunchtime that I would be going to the Montgomery's straight after school, Tim always likes to move fast when it comes to moving to new homes. After talking with Lena I spent the rest of the afternoon clock watching and thinking about what my life will be like this time next week, will I be happy? or am I about to embark on the biggest mistake of my life? my mind continued to reel over my future until the final bell of the day rung through the classroom.

Before Tim picked me up I spent time with Callie and Jude, both were equally as upset as I felt, Callie promised to call me after dinner and Jude said he couldn't wait to come to my new house to visit. Time moved fast as soon as we got home and I felt like I was only there for a few minutes before Tim was knocking on the door, the whole family said bye and gave me a send off which surprised me. Callie and Jude gave me an extra long hug and I was sure I noticed a tear in Stefs eye when she walked me out to Tims car. Stef and Lena promised I would see them soon right before Tim shut my door and we started the short journey to the Montgomery's.

Tim pulls up the car in front the the big black gates that lead to the Montgomery mansion, he talks to the speaker box and a few seconds later the gates open and we make the drive up to the house. Meredith and Denny open the door yet again before we even make it there to knock, when I walk to the entryway Meredith wraps me up in a hug and exclaims how excited she is for me to finally be here. Tim doesn't come in but rather says a quick bye at the door and tells Denny and Meredith that he will be in touch soon, he walks back to his car and has driven away within a few minutes. Meredith grabs my hand "Come Charlotte, you must come and meet your new brother and sister" She pulls me toward the living room with a skip in her step, Denny follows closely behind. We walk into the room where I first talked to the Montgomerys, this room is empty, "Oh they must be in the games room" she pulls me to a door on the far side of the room, I haven't been to this part of the house yet. The door leads to another hallway that has four doors, one that looks to be leading to the kitchen. We continue past that door and walk down to the last door; I can hear noises coming from inside, Meredith opens the door without knocking. Inside are two other teenagers one boy and one girl, "Cam, Clauds. Meet Charlotte" the boy pauses his game and stands up to greet me, "Hey, welcome to the madhouse" Meredith lightly pushes his shoulder in which he replies with a laugh. Meredith then clears her throat at the girl who hasn't seemed to acknowledge me yet. The girl, Claudia, walks towards me "Hey" she says, I give her a smile in which she returns one back, although I have learnt to read peoples emotions and her smile is not what I would view as welcoming or happy, Claudia's smile is sad, her smile instantly sends me warning signs, making my spine tingle as that familiar uneasy feeling makes it's way through my body.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon had me getting settled into my room and doing some homework, Cameron is really chatty and reminds me a bit of Jesus, Claudia is the total opposite and hasn't really said much at all. Even when Meredith, Denny or Cameron talks to her she seems to give one worded answers. I have also noticed that she doesn't look any one of her family members in the eye, she looks almost shy or anxious whenever someone addresses her within conversation. I try to convince myself that it is because there is a new person in the house and maybe she is truely shy but something just seems off, the way Claudia acts reminds me of how I have had to act in previous fosters homes.. I shake the thoughts from my head and try to convince myself that I am just overreacting.

* * *

The luxury life of the Montgomery's continues through the evening for dinner a hot roast turkey is cooked and served from their kitchen maid, a Spanish lady in her forties who introduced herself as Nina, she even came and repeatedly filled up my water glass throughout the meal. Dinner was a totally different experience to what it is at the Fosters, no one talked whilst eating but after everyone was finished and the food was cleared Denny started to talk to us about the day, it felt like a very formal affair. After talking about how excited they were to have me join their family, for the twentieth time this afternoon, Denny began to talk about how everything would work with me living here "Jones, our driver, will drop you off to your school and he will pick you up after school and bring you back home, except of course on Monday's and Thursday's when you go to visit the Fosters, in which Jones will pick you up after dinner" he says "Okay" I reply with a nod "Are you sure you don't want to change to Cam and Claudia's school?" Denny asks "Um no thanks, I really enjoy Anchor Beach" "Okay well if you change your mind we can make it happen straight away" I nod in reply. Denny continues to talk about my 'schedule', a schedule that is very precise and almost feels like i am entering military camp. After the formal conversation of what life is going to be like at the Montgomerys Meredith quickly claps her hands in excitement making me jump, i also noticed in my peripheral vision that Claudia jumped at the motion too, "Now the exciting stuff!" Meredith exclaims "We have started your adoption process Charlotte, or do you want to us to call you Charlie? I noticed that's what Stef and Lena called you?" "Adoption already? and Charlie is fine" I reply, "Yes already! We want to make you ours as soon as we can" Meredith says with a huge grin. I look around the table; Cameron and Denny are smiling just as much as Meredith but Claudia has her face so far down her nose looks to be almost touching the table. Meredith continues to talk "Tim thinks your adoption could be finalised within two weeks, how great is that!?" I gulp and almost choke on my saliva "Two weeks?" Meredith looks at me and her smile turns into a small frown "Are you not excited?" "I.. uhh.. yeah I am really excited" I force a smile onto my face "I just.. I just thought it would take longer then two weeks?" Meredith puts on her grin again "Well we are lucky enough to be able to make things move faster around here, perks of the lifestyle some would say" she says, I don't know what to say to that so I reply once again with a forced smile. Denny stands up from the head of the table "I think it's time we all head to bed, we have been talking late tonight and we have a busy day tomorrow! We thought we could drive up to Santa Monica and spend time at the beach and maybe go out to a nice restaurant as a family so we can all get to know Charlie more" "That sounds great Dad!" Cameron says as he leaves the table. Claudia smiles towards the family and then myself before she too leaves for her bedroom "That sounds great, thanks for dinner" I say as I get up too. Meredith walks over to me and wraps me up in yet another awkward hug "Now you get settled into your room and I will come and say goodnight soon, If you need anything just let me or Denny know okay?" "Okay, thanks" I say towards both Denny and Meredith, Meredith gives me a squeeze and Denny gives me a slight smile and a nod of his head, he seems very different to when I first met him. I leave the room and make my way through the maze of hallways until I reach my room.

* * *

Thirty minutes later I am showered and about to hop into bed, I let out a big yawn not realising how tired I actually am. Right before I go to pull down the covers a knock comes on the door "Come in" I say, Meredith walks into the room with a smile on her face "I hope you are comfortable in here" she says, "Yeah this is really great" I say "Well goodnight Charlie, I hope you have a good sleep. I will wake you up in the morning we are hoping to leave early to make a day of it" I give her a smile "Okay, Night" Meredith walks over and holds my hands in hers, much like what Stef does, but this just doesn't seem as comforting as Stef makes me feel "I'm so glad you decided to come and join our family Charlie, you're going to love it here" Meredith gives me one last grin before she walks out of the room and closes the door behind her.

I look around the huge room that is now mine and I notice my duffel bag on the floor, I suddenly remember about the phone Stef and Lena gave me and race over to pull it out from the bag. I touch the screen and it lights up showing me I have multiple messages from Callie, Jude and Stef. I unlock the phone and open the first message..

From: Stef

_Hey Charlie, hope you are all settled in at the Montgomery's. You are probably busy getting to know everyone so we will call you tomorrow. Goodnight sweets, Stef and Lena x_

I smile at the message before I close it and open the messages from Callie and Jude.

From: Jude

_Hope you are okay Charlie, I miss you already! It's not the same without you here but I hope you are having fun at your new home!_

_Also I bet my high score on Vainglory! Yay! Anyway night, talk to you soon. _

I quickly reply to Jude,

_That's awesome Jude, It's has been okay tonight, a bit weird being in a huge house. The Montgomery's seem.. _

I pause before finding the right words to write to Jude, after a few thoughts of deliberation I finally decide on a word

_... nice. Goodnight Judy x_

Finally I get to Callie's messages

From: Callie

_Charles, i'm sorry we couldn't hang out more today before you left. Hope your first night has gone okay. P.S. I left you a surprise in your front pocket of your bag x _

I quickly walk over to my bag and open the pocket, inside I find a photo of Callie, Jude and I, the photo is in a white frame, we took this photo last week, it's taken on the swing chair on the Fosters deck. I hold the photo up to my chest with a smile on my face. Walking back over to the bed I place the photo on my bedside table and reopen Callie's message. I send her a reply, _Thank you so much! I love it x _

I go to put my phone next to the photo but it beeps before I even place it down, _new message._

From: Callie

_I knew you would! Stef said you would be busy tonight so I will call you tomorrow? _

I reply, _We are having a family day tomorrow, so it might be hard to talk on the phone. Sunday?_

Callie's next message comes through within a minute.

From: Callie

_That sounds fun!, I can ask you about it on Sunday. Night Charles, Love you x _

I let out a yawn before I send a quick reply to Callie, _Night Callie, Love you too x_

I put the phone on the beside table and pull the covers up, even the sheets feel luxurious, but although luxurious it just doesn't feel very homely, I guess that will come with time though. I snuggle down further into the bed and think about the messages from Stef, Callie and Jude, they bring another smile to my face before sleep overcomes me.


	22. Chapter 22

**Charlie POV**

Saturday morning arrives fast and I am awoken by Meredith knocking on the bedroom door "Good Morning Charlie, Nina has breakfast ready. We want to leave by 9am so we have plenty of time at the beach". I hear her footsteps fade away down the hallway, sitting up I rub my eyes as I try to wake myself up. I pick up my phone from the table, 7:30am, I haven't slept in this late for years. Now I think about it I was in bed by 9pm last night, it's unheard of for me to sleep that long and I still feel drowsy now. A yawn escapes my lips and I shake my head to try get this drowsy feeling out of my head. It takes me ten minutes before I begin to feel normal again and muster up the energy to start getting ready. Meredith knocks on the door while I am mid dressed "Coming!" I yell through the door "Great, see you in the dining room!" Meredith says through the door before I hear her footsteps disappear down the hall again. My eyes roll back, how is this woman so chipper all the time, it's almost tiresome being around her. My mind flickers to the Fosters household, I wonder what everyone is doing there at the moment. I let out a sad sigh before I leave my room to make my way to the dining room.

* * *

We have just walked into a very grand restaurant, there are gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and everyone is wearing suits or fancy dresses. Before we arrived Meredith surprised me with a beautiful navy dress for me to change into from my beach attire, I was stunned by the gift, having never seen a dress so exquisite in person let alone for me to wear. I am glad because I would look completely out of place without it. A waiter walks over to the five of us "Hello Mr and Mrs Montgomery, we have your reserved booth ready for you" the waiter walks towards the other side of the restaurant and Denny follows with the rest of us close behind. We approach our booth which is huge! the seats are maroon and look to be made from velvet, Denny and Cameron slip in first with Meredith, Claudia and I hopping in afterwards, I am sitting next to Claudia. The waiter hands us some menus and does a quick drink order before he leaves and we are left alone at the table "Oooh I had so much fun today! It's always nice to get away isn't it?" Meredith says to us, I nod my head with smile "It was very lovely, sorry I had to run off suddenly. Something with the business came up" Denny says, "We missed you but we all know how important our business is" Meredith says "Yeah don't worry about it Dad, you are just unlucky you missed out on ice-cream" Cam says with a laugh. I thought it was strange that Denny just up and left, especially since we were in a different city but Cam said it was normal for Denny so I swept my thoughts under the rug. Meredith looks towards Claudia and I, probing us to reply to Denny's apology, "It's okay _Dad, _it's sucks you had to leave because of the _business_" Claudia says, sarcasm is very clear in her words but the family seems to ignore it. Meredith then looks directly at me, my stomach drops as I look into her eyes, there is something in them that makes my skin crawl "Oh um it's okay, sorry you had to leave". Meredith then puts on her famous smile, she picks up the menu "Now what do we all feel like eating?".

* * *

We have just left the restaurant and Denny has pulled the car onto the road, I look down at my lap in which a brand new iPhone is sitting, another gift from the Montgomery's. Meredith pulled the phone out of her bag at the end of dinner, stating that because I didn't have a phone I would need one to contact the family. It was a weird moment in which I almost blurted out that I already had a phone, the one that Stef and Lena gave me, but something made me stop in my tracks and I decided to keep it a secret. I'm not sure what made me to this, I guess it was just a gut feeling. We drive down a few streets "I just need to make one more stop before we start driving home, it will be quick so you can all stay in the car" Denny states, the car drives for another ten minutes before Denny pulls the car up outside a big beach villa, I can see the front door to the house from where I am sitting. Denny jumps out of the car and grabs something out from the boot of the car, I watch as he walks towards to door, he has a black medium sized bag in his hand. Weird I don't remember seeing that bag in the boot this morning. I look around the car and no one else in the car seems remotely interested in Denny, Meredith and Cameron are scrolling on their phones and Claudia is sitting with her head rested on the back of the seat and her eyes are closed. I turn my head back to Denny who has now made his way to the door, the door opens and a man walks out, a man in a nice suit who is obviously just as rich as the Montgomery's. Denny embraces the other man in a hug before they exchange a few words, the man then passes Denny another bag in which Denny swaps with the medium black bag. I can't help but wonder what is in those bags, my curiosity is at full heights. No one else in the car looks at all curious so I guess this is just another normal thing to happen in this family.

The whole exchange lasted all of five minutes and we were back on the road almost as fast as we arrived "How was Luke today?" Meredith turns to Denny "Yes good, he was happy with everything again" he replies "That's great!, so he has put in another order" Meredith says happily, Denny clears his throat almost like he wants to change the subject "ahem yes". My suspicions continue to rise as I listen to Denny and Meredith talk, everything about what just happened seems weird and almost off. There is definitely something going on with this family. I am not going to be letting my walls down anytime soon.

**Stef POV**

We have just put on a movie in the living room and everyone is curled up with blankets and pillows, today was a weird day. I look around at all my children and I feel like our family has a piece missing, it has only been one day with Charlie gone and it feels as though everything has changed, which is strange because Charlie wasn't even with us for very long. Jude and Callie have been quiet and kept to themselves most of the day and it feels as though I have hardly talked to Lena or my other children too. This feeling of distance is why I originally suggested watching a movie as a family, to try to bring us all back to normality. I haven't heard from Charlie since she left, although I didn't expect her to reply to my message last night, Callie did say she had a brief conversation with Charlie and said she was busy all today so hopefully we will hear from her tomorrow. I still have a simmering feeling in my stomach that I can't quite place and I can't help but feel like I can't protect Charlie now that she is not under our roof, I look around my family that is surrounding me, I want to be able to protect her like them, I want to have her here. I pick up my phone to check if there are any new messages, which there are not, Lena places her hand on mine and gently removes the phone from my hand "she's probably not going to message anyone tonight, just try to relax my love" Lena whispers in my ear, I know she is right. I rest my head on Lenas shoulder and try to focus on the movie but I find myself wondering what Charlie is doing right now, is she home? or is she out? Is she okay? I wish I knew.

**Charlie POV**

Two hours later and we finally pull into the driveway of the Montgomery house, it is now dark outside and everyone seems to be exhausted from today. We all grab our belongings and make our way into the house, Nina is ready at the door and grabs our things off us before I can tell her that I can take them. Meredith closes the front door "You three look exhausted how about you get ready for bed and i'll be down to see you soon" Cameron and Claudia are off before Meredith finishes talking and I give Meredith and Denny a smile before I head to my room too.

Once in my room I firstly grab the phone Stef and Lena gave me off my beside table and hide it under my pillow, If Meredith is coming in here soon I don't want her to see it. I then start to get myself ready for bed, I open the drawers the find multiple sets of new pyjamas all in my size, the gifts seem to just keep coming in this house. I grab out a pair of blue pyjamas and make my way to the bathroom for a shower, luckily in this house we have a bathroom each so there is so need to wait. Meredith catches me just as i'm walking back into my room "hopefully you feel better after your shower? I always feel like a need a good shower after long car trips" she says "yeah I feel much better" I reply "That's great, I left you a glass of water next to your bed, make sure you drink some, being out in the sun all day can make you very dehydrated" she says with her famous grin "oh, ah yes thanks" "Great!" Meredith wraps me in a hug "Goodnight Charlie, see you in the morning" "Night" I say. Meredith walks out of the door, her smile never leaving her face the entire time. I close the bedroom door, grab my phone from my duffel bag and hop into bed, surprisingly i'm not very tired, it must have been the massive sleep I had last night. I decide to send a goodnight message to Callie, Jude and Stef, mid message I look over at the water next to the bed, I am actually really thirsty, I pick up the glass and guzzle down three quarters of it before I return to my messages. Weirdly less then ten minutes later I can hardly keep my eyes open, I haven't received any replies so I decide to put the phone back under my pillow but turn the lights off. A few minutes later I fall into a deep sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks for the reviews and your theories - love the feedback. **

**Charlie POV**

The next morning I feel just as drowsy as I did the previous morning, it takes me a good ten minutes to gather my bearings and feel even slightly awake. I pull my phone out from under my pillow and see that it is 9:30am, I instantly sit up, how is it 9:30am, what the heck. I look back at my phone in which I have messages from Callie, Jude and Stef.

_From: Stef  
__Sorry we were watching a movie, you're probably asleep now. Talk tomorrow x _

The messages from Callie and Jude are much of the same, saying they were busy watching a movie and goodnight. I decide to call Callie now before I leave my room and join the Montgomery family, who knows when i'll have another chance to call. I dial Callie's number from my contacts and Callie answers on the first ring "Hey Charlie! How are you? I'll go to the kitchen so you can talk to everyone else too" Callie says.  
"Hi Callie, yeah i'm okay. How are you guys?" I hear shuffling in the background.  
"Charlie I put you on speaker Stef, Lena, Jude and Jesus are all here too" Callie states.  
"Hi Charlie!" they say in unison.  
"Hi, How is everyone? I mi.." I almost state that I miss them but I stop quickly and change my mind.  
Stef starts talking "We are all good here love, how is it going at the Montgomery's? What have you been up to this weekend? We miss you here" My eyes start to water at her last few words, I feel okay now about the words that escape my lips next.  
"It's going okay, I only just woke up now. I miss you guys too".  
"You only just woke up? That's unusual for you Charlie?" Stef states, I can hear the concern in her voice through the phone.  
"Yeah. I know it's weird for me to sleep in" I slightly chuckle "I guess yesterday was quite busy, I must have been tired".  
"What did you end up doing yesterday?" Callie asks.  
"We drove up to Santa Monica, went to the beach and a fancy restaurant I ordered..." I'm cut off from Meredith's voice coming from the hallway. I quickly whisper into the phone "Sorry I have to go, talk soon" I hang up the phone before anyone has time to reply and I shove the phone back under the pillow. Lucky I did because a few seconds later Meredith opens the door and beams her now familiar smile at me from the doorway.  
"Oh yay! You're finally awake. I have come to check on you a few times but you looked so peaceful I just didn't want to wake you up" She states.  
"Yeah it was a pretty big sleep in" I say.  
"Well that's what you should do on a Sunday right?" Meredith says with a smile. I smile back "Anyway, we have saved you some waffles. When you are ready just ask Nina and she will heat them up for you"  
"Thanks, i'll get up soon"  
"Claudia and Cameron have gone to their music lessons and Denny is busy working so it's just us this morning" Meredith says with a smile before she leaves the room again. A whole day with just Meredith, I roll my eyes, sounds like so much fun. I already can't seem to stand this woman, not a good sign for times to come that's for sure.

**Callie POV**

I look at the phone and then up to the four people standing around me, who all look equally as confused as I am.  
"That was weird right?" I say.  
Stef looks at me with slight concern on her face "Yeah it was, do you think she sounded okay Cal?". I think about Stefs question, I mean I think she sounded okay but it's hard to tell over the phone "Um yeah I think so, don't you?" worry starts to creep up from Stefs question.  
"I just.. I don't know" Stef says as she looks to Lena.  
"I'm sure she is fine, she must have just had to rush off or something? I'm sure she will call back later and tell us why she had to go so quickly" Lena says, trying to convince us all that Charlie is okay.  
"Yeah I guess so" I say under my breath. Stef rubs her hand up my back "Remember you will see Charlie at school tomorrow and she is over for dinner too. So we can talk to her then" Stef says reassuringly although I can tell from her voice she is worried too.

**Charlie POV**

I wish I didn't have to cut my phone call to Callie earlier today, I have now been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes trying to eat and Meredith has been talking to me the entire time. I have started to blur out her voice and just smile and nod in her direction, as most of the time she is talking about nothing important. Meredith must suddenly notice that I am not listening because she starts to wave at me from across the table "Charlie, are you going to answer me?" she says.  
"Oh umm sorry what?".  
"I asked you if you wanted to go shopping with me today? We need to get you some more clothes and I thought you could pick out some more things to make your room feel more personal. What do you think?" Meredith asks.  
"Umm that sounds nice but I really don't need anything else.. really. Also I have a heap of homework that I need to get done before school tomorrow".  
Meredith looks at me with disappointment "Oh okay.. Well if you are sure. You are a good girl, doing your homework on a Sunday".  
I don't like how she called me a good girl but I don't make it clear "Yeah I have a lot to catch up on considering I was out of school for a few months" I say.  
"Ahh yes of course. I can look into getting you a tutor to help you catch up!" Meredith says.  
"Oh no no, it's okay I have Lena helping me. She is a great tutor"  
Meredith nods "Well that is very nice of her" she says in a snide. The way she said this just doesn't sit well with me, I get up and decide to remove myself from the conversation before I begin to get angry.  
"Yes it is. If you don't mind I have heaps of work to do so I am going to go do it in my room" I try not to sound rude but by the look that appeared on Merediths face I know she took it badly.  
"Oh. Well I will come and see you later then?" She says.  
"Yeah" I say as I walk out of the dining room and make my way back to my bedroom, where I plan to spend the rest of my day.

* * *

I look at the clock in my room 3:30pm, surprisingly Meredith hasn't come to check on me today not even to offer me lunch, she must have sensed that I didn't feel like being around her today. I kind of feel bad now, I mean she probably didn't deserve my rude response or my cold shoulder but I was already getting annoyed with her and her comment about Lena had really tipped me over. Maybe I should go and apologise, especially before the others get home anyway. I pack up my homework and leave the room heading to where I think Meredith would be, the dining or living room. I make it halfway there when I hear Meredith's voice from a room I have not been in yet, I am presuming it's Denny's office as he seems to spend a lot of time in there. I try not to be noisy but my curiosity gets the best of me and I quietly put my ear to the door.  
"What do you mean the adoption can't be done in two weeks?!" Meredith sounds angry.  
"You told me that you had sorted out Tim, you said we could get it done fast" she continues, "Well do we need to give him more money, i'm sure he can swing the process a bit more?".  
My heart begins to beat fast, they are talking about my adoption but why would they need to pay Tim to make it happen faster. I wish I could hear who was talking on the other end of the phone.  
Meredith's voice continues through the wall "Denny we can't wait another two weeks, we are going to have to get her started before the official adoption. Business is falling and we need her in there now!" she is all but yelling down the phone.  
Well I guess Denny is on the other end of the phone but what is she talking about? my heart is racing faster then ever and I am starting to feel nervous. I keep my ear near the door trying to get as much information as possible.  
"I know it's risky but I have a feeling she will comply, I know she has an attitude but Tim said she would be a good one, I can tell she is protective over her brother and sister so we can use that to our advantage. I don't think she will be problematic as soon as I tell her what's at stake. Claudia can teach her and i'm sure she will let her know exactly what will happen if she tries to get away" Meredith exclaims through the wall.  
My hand comes up to my mouth and I slowly retreat from the door, I can't listen anymore, I have heard enough. The floor creaks loudly under my foot and my eyes open wide, Meredith's voice quietens and I hear her approach the door.  
The door opens and I try my best to act normal "Hi, I uhh was just coming to find you" I say.  
Meredith suddenly puts on her famous fake smile "Hi Charlie, How is the homework going?" she says, acting like she hasn't been talking about me just now.  
"Oh, yeah okay. I just wanted to apologise about earlier, I'm sorry If I sounded rude. I guess I was still a bit tired" I say.  
Meredith walks over to me and embraces me in a hug, making goosebumps appear up my arms. I just want to push away from her but I don't want to make it obvious that I heard her conversation so I just go with it.  
"It's okay. I'm sorry if I seem too pushy. I just want to make sure you feel at home here, understand?" Meredith says.  
"Yeah, thank you. I do appreciate it" I say with a forced smile.  
"Now you must be hungry, I didn't realise how late it was. How about we go ask Nina to whip us up a snack?" says Meredith.  
"That would be nice, I am pretty hungry" I remark, although after what I heard eating is the last thing that I feel like doing right now. Meredith leads the way and I follow at a distance behind, I stare daggers into the back of Meredith. There is something seriously wrong happening in this house and I need to get out of here as soon as possible but by the sounds of it it's not going to be very easy.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know your thoughts. I have also slightly changed the format of my writing, hopefully it's easier to read like this. **


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry for the delay, life has been busy.

**Charlie POV**

Monday morning comes around quickly, I am already on my way to school and I am feeling so relieved to finally get away from that house. I have been on edge ever since I heard Meredith on the phone yesterday and I have felt the need to be on high alert at all times. I let out a yawn, for the first time in a while I don't think I had any sleep last night.

The car pulls into the carpark at Anchor Beach and I hop out quickly to walk into the school, I don't even acknowledge my driver. Within a minute Lenas car pulls up too and the Foster family all jump out, Callie yells out my name and runs over to me. I feel her arms wrap around me and I instantly feel a sense of safety, I feel relief wash over me and I wrap my arms around Callie too.

"it's so good to see you Charlie, we miss you!" Callie exclaims.

"I miss you too.. _so much_" I reply, Callie looks at me with concern, "Everything okay?" Callie asks.

"Oh um yeah, everything is fine. It's just weird being with another family.. again. You probably know what it's like living with strangers.." my voices quietens at the end of my statement.

I look up to Callie who still has some concern on her face, "Yeah I know that feeling, it's not very nice. Remember you have me to talk to if you need to?" I nod my head in reply and give Callie a small smile, I wish I could tell her everything but I don't know enough yet.

The rest of the Foster family have now joined us and said their good mornings to me, the bell rings in the distance giving us our cue to head to our classes. I say goodbye to everyone but Lena decides to walk me to my first class.

Walking side by side I don't really know what to say to her "So you had a good weekend at the Montgomerys?" Lena asks.

My brain freezes and I don't know how to reply, Lena is someone who I struggle with lying to "I.. uh.. yeah, I guess".

"You don't seem very certain?" Lena asks further.

I open my mouth to talk but close it again, I have to lie, I have heard Meredith already making threats from the phone call I overheard and I am not putting anyone in danger. I guess if I give her a white lie it's not as bad "I mean, I just need to get used to living with them. I.. I have never lived with anyone like them before so it's a lot to get used to.. you know?".

Lena puts her arm around me "Of course it will be, you still need to get to know them but I know this is going to work out for you Charlie" Lena says with a smile. I display another fake smile for Lena, oh how I wish that were true.

Lena drops me off to my class before she heads to the office "Have a good day Charlie. We all can't wait to have you around for dinner. See you later". I give Lena a wave before I walk into class, thank god I do not have to go back to the Montgomery's until tonight, the longer I can stay away the better.

* * *

It's just after lunchtime and I am heading into English class, as soon as I walk through the door Timothy instructs me that something has happened to my brother and that I needed to go to the office right away. Horrible thoughts race through my head as I think but what has happened to Jude, my walk starts to turn into a run and I find I am at the office within minutes. I walk through reception in which I am instantly waved through, my heart is racing and I feel like I am about to burst into tears. I open the door and walk into the office, my heart stops as I instantly see the face of the one woman I don't want to be anywhere near. Meredith looks at me, she looks to be worried but I can sense that it's not genuine.

"Come sit down Charlie" Lena says to me. I slowly make my way to the chair next to Meredith, who grabs my hand, I instantly want to pull away but I restrain myself.

"What..What's going on? Is Jude okay?" I blurt out.

Lena looks taken aback "Oh honey yes, Jude is okay. Jude is safe in class" She responds.

"Then why am I here?" I remark, I don't mean it to sound rude but I only have one brother and Timothy said something had happened to _my brother_.

Meredith looks at me now "It's Cam" She says with a snuffle, "He had an accident at school today, he hurt his head and is at the hospital with Denny and Claudia. I was with him and he is in a stable condition but I thought we should tell you and bring you to the hospital too.. to be with your family" Meredith gives my hand a squeeze but I don't feel any kind of love from her gesture.

"That's good that he is okay now..and I.. I don't mean to sound rude but.. but do I have to go with you now. I mean I still have three classes left today and I'm already behind" I look to Lena for support who responds with empathy written on her face.

Meredith squeezes my hand harder and not in a pleasant way "I came all this way to get you Charlie, you have just joined this family and I think it is very important for you to be with us during this hard time. We would all really appreciate it, especially Cam" Meredith says.

Lena cuts in now "It's okay Charlie, I can collect up all of your classwork from your next classes and I can give them to you tonight at dinner".

"Oh Charlie won't be able to make it to dinner tonight. We are planning for a late night at the hospital, we want to all eat dinner together with Cam" Meredith replies sharply.

"What!? No!? I need to go for dinner. Lena has to go over my English assignment. You said I could go there every Monday!" My heart races and my hands begin to sweat, I have to go to the Fosters tonight, I can't wait another day. I don't care If i'm getting snappy or rude at this point.

Lena stands up and walks around her desk, she comes over to me and wraps me in a hug "Honey it's okay, we will organise another day for you to come over for dinner. Right?" She looks towards Meredith for confirmation.

Meredith smirks "Yes, right. Once Cam is feeling better we can sort out another time".

I know that Meredith is probably struggling with what has happened to Cam but all I want to do is run away from her, I want to run into Lena's arms and never let go but I know that isn't going to solve anything. Meredith is not going to let me avoid this 'family time'. "Okay" I say to Lena before Meredith stands up next to me.

She walks towards to door "Come on then, we need to get back to Cam. Bye Lena, talk soon", I stand up and walk towards the door too. Lena's voice sounds behind me "Don't worry Charlie, we will see you soon okay? I promise".

I turn and give her a nod before I leave the office and follow Meredith to her car, that's the first time that I don't believe what Lena has said to me. I know thats a promise she probably won't be able to keep if mental Meredith has anything to do with it.

* * *

We have been in the car for five minutes now and I haven't said a single word to Meredith, sure I feel bad that Cam has hurt himself but I am currently feeling absolutely despised by this woman next to me. She has pulled me away from my family once again, my _real_ family. I don't want to go to the hospital and I am certain that Cam doesn't give a shit about if I am there or not, it is just Meredith trying to take control. I look out the window and notice that we are not going even remotely close to the hospital.

"Where are we going? The hospital is that way" I say pointing towards the opposite direction in which we are driving.

"Denny messaged me and Cam is at home now. So we are going there" She says to me.

"Oh okay, then why couldn't I stay at school then?" I respond.

"Charlie! Don't you start to be rude with me. I don't appreciate how you snapped at me in front of Lena before and if you start again you will be sorry. You hear me?" snaps Meredith.

My heart starts to race again "I was just saying how I felt" I remark under my breath.

"What was that Charlotte?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter" I say. We go through the rest of the drive in silence as Meredith angrily swerves through the many roads that lead to the Montgomery mansion.

* * *

**Lena POV**

"I know, I know Stef. This is disappointing but what was I going to say? I couldn't make her let Charlie stay or come to dinner" Stef is communicating her disappointment down the phone line. I called Stef as soon as Meredith and Charlie had left, she needed a heads up as she was looking forward to tonight all weekend.

"Yes I told her we would reschedule for another day soon, she wasn't happy but what else can you do" I say.

"Your right love, I know that we can do dinner with Charlie any other day. I'm just disappointed. I will send Charlie a message later this evening and maybe i'll pop by the school tomorrow to say hello since I wont be seeing her tonight" Stef says to Lena.

"That would be nice, I think she would like that. I have to get some more work done but I will see you tonight. Love you" Lena replies.

"Love you too" Stef says before I end the call, I put my phone on my desk and look to the chair where Meredith was sitting just a few moments earlier.

I think back to when she first entered my office in distress, she quickly rambled about Cam's accident and said that she needed Charlie to come to the hospital with her straight away. I had instantly picked up the phone and called Timothy to tell Charlie the news and to send her to the office as soon as she made it into class.

It took Charlie about ten minutes before she made her way to us and in those ten minutes I found myself watching Meredith intensely, she went through various stages of emotions almost like someone who suffered from bi-polar. For those ten minutes I felt as those I was watching a show, Meredith would be pacing the room, answering phone calls, over enthusiastically crying and she even let out a few smiles and laughs. It was all very unusual but I guess it was her way of dealing with what had happened to her son. I mean if anything happened to any of my children I might act chaotic too but something just didn't sit right with me. I'm not sure if it's the way she was acting when she was alone with me, or the way she acted around Charlie but whatever it was I will be mentioning it to Stef this evening.

* * *

**Charlie POV**

We pull up to the house and I notice Denny's car sitting in the driveway, Meredith makes her way inside and I quickly follow. When inside the house I notice Denny sitting in the living room with multiple brown files over the coffee table.

"Come in here Charlotte" He announces loudly. I walk into the living room with Meredith just ahead of me, Denny gestures his arm towards the seat "Sit". I sit at his stern instruction.

"How's Cam? How is he feeling?" I ask looking at Denny. He looks at me in confusion "At school where else would he be" Denny states.

My blood boils and I look towards Meredith who has a evil smirk on her face "You.. you said he was in the hospital. You said he had an accident! That's the whole reason why you ripped me out of school!" My voice raised.

Denny looks at Meredith with one eyebrow raised "What? Well you told me to get her here, so I did" Meredith responds with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

Anger is boiling throughout my body and I feel like I am about to explode "Why.. why did you need me here so badly that you would make up a horrible.. horrible lie? You must be a monster to do this!" I say through the grit of my teeth.

"Now now Charlie, what did I say about the way you talked to me? but it's okay once we have finished talking i'm sure this will stop. Over to you Denny" Meredith says with a smile.

Denny lifts up the brown file that is closest to him "You are a lucky girl Charlie, we chose you because we knew that you would help us and make this family proud. It has been a big process to find you but with the help of our close friend Tim we were lucky to come across your file". I sit in stunned silence, i'm guessing I am about to find out about that phone call I overheard now.

Denny continues to ramble about how important I will be to this family before he starts to spill some more intricate details. "Now you are going to be Claudia's partner in our business. You will have two specific jobs in which Claudia will help to train you up in" Denny continues.

"What job? What are you talking about? You need to be a bit clearer on this one.." I say through gritted teeth.

"Well I guess your official titles will be packager and traveller. Your job is going to be to package the goods and once ready you will deliver the packages to our clients. Some people prefer to have their deliveries done by younger woman as it's less.. conspicuous" As Denny tells me my 'jobs' I begin to realise how dodgy this family is, maybe even criminal by the sounds of it.

"What if I don't want your stupid job?" I blurt out. Meredith lets out an evil laugh "We knew you wouldn't sway straight away" She says in her now familiar evil tone.

Denny opens up that brown file onto the table which is full of photos of Callie, Jude, Stef, Lena and the rest of the Fosters family. My heart drops as I look to all the faces I have grown to trust and love.

"If you don't do as we say then we will have to take matters further, now I know you don't want anything to happen to your brother, sister or the rest of the Fosters so we have trust that you are going to do as you are told" Denny says matter of factly.

I gulp, I can't believe I am getting blackmailed. "What are the goods?" I suddenly ask, I guess i'm not getting out of this so I may as well get the full details.

"Once you sign a few forms then we can tell you that" Denny opens another brown file which has a few pieces of paper which look like agreements. He pushes the papers toward me "Have a read through these and once you are done we will get down to business. You will be starting work this afternoon" Denny says before he stands up and pours himself a whisky.

I look through the papers, the first one talks about expectations, they expect me to attend school get good grades and participate in one extracurricular activity alongside working. I must show Meredith, Denny and Cameron respect at all times or there will be consequences. Work hours can be anywhere from twenty hours a week depending on stock and how many orders have been made. How do they expect me to do all this without crumbling from exhaustion, this is crazy.

I look to the next piece of paper which is all about confidentiality, it says I must not say a single word about this to anyone, police, friends or strangers. It continues to mention what Denny has already said to me about the safety of the Fosters just in written form.

Now the last piece of paper is about payment, saying I will not get paid for the hours I work but paid in material items such as clothes, living in the mansion and upholding the Montgomery lifestyle of events and dinner in which I have to be on best behaviour at all times.

I finish reading the final piece of paper "This is ridiculous, do you really expect me to sign these. This is exploitation, this is so wrong. How could you do this to me?" I say towards Denny.

"Yes Charlotte I do expect you to sign these, you see I have people on call 24/7. Do you want to me pick up this phone now.. maybe Stefanie could have a car accident today or what about a school shooting? It can all be done at the click of a button Charlotte and I know you will not let anything happen to the people you care about. Am I right?" Denny states.

I want to scream, I want to shout. I hate these people so much and I hate Tim, he obviously knows what these people are up to and he has put me here. For what, money I suppose. I feel heat rising in my cheeks as Denny hands a pen to me, I grab the pen and sign the papers in front of me.

I have just signed my entire life away. Once again any control I have over my life is gone and this time I have a feeling it is gone for good.

**I'm so sorry this took for ages but I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Let me know. **


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